By Peter Lucas
The Babylon Bee鈥檚 satirical headline over the bombing of Iran鈥檚 nuclear sites summed it up best.
It read: 鈥淥bama distraught as Trump bombs cool nuke factories he paid for.鈥
There is truth in satire, which is why it works.
Former President Barack Obama鈥檚 appeasing financial largesse toward Iran paved the way for Iran to build its nuclear and missile delivery program that President Trump just blew off the map.
It seemed that Obama鈥攁nd then Joe Biden鈥攃ould not pour enough money into the militant Islamic theocracy to get it to sign on to the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) treaty curbing its nuclear program.
It was a treaty supported by Obama, Biden and the Democrats that Iran ignored as it built its capacity to launch a nuclear attack on Israel and the United States, while it financed, armed and trained Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis to spread terror throughout the region.
The constant Iranian threats of 鈥淒eath to Israel鈥 and 鈥淒eath to America鈥 did not stop either Obama or Biden from showering Iran with billions of dollars to woo the wily and implacable Iranians to the negotiating table.
The Iranians, under religious dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are like Hitler and the Nazis of World War II. They will sign anything knowing that they will ignore what they signed anyway.
That is what Iran did with the so-called sanctions that were put into place under the treaty. They ignored them and got rich selling oil to China while working on their nuclear bombs.
It is no wonder that Trump tore the JCPOA treaty up in his first administration and bombed Iran in his second.
Trump had Iran on the ropes economically during his first administration when he forced compliance with the sanctions.
鈥淭hey were broke,鈥 Trump said, and could never have advanced their nuclear program. Then Biden was elected, and the sanctions were once again relaxed or ignored and Iran proceeded to take in billions, which went into its nuclear plan.
The Democrats made Iran rich, largely by lifting or ignoring the sanctions, but also by other means, like paying for hostages.
Back in 2015, Obama unfroze $150 billion in Iranian funds that the Iranians quickly used to work on their nuclear bomb and missile plans as well to finance its terrorist proxies.
In 2016, rather than demand their release, the ever-amenable Obama paid the Iranians $1.7 billion in cash delivered to Tehran for the release of four Americans held hostages.
In 2023 alone, while Iranian terrorist proxies launched attacks on forty U.S. military installations in the region, Iran took in $80 billion in illicit oil sales to China under Biden鈥檚 relaxed or ignored sanctions.
In addition, Biden, like Obama, paid Iran $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds in a prisoner swap for the release of five Americans held hostage for five criminal Iranians in U.S. prisons.
The Ayatollah had a good thing going with the Democrats. He played Obama and Biden like a fiddle.
Then came Trump and a real military shock and awe bombing campaign that took the Iranian mullahs and the world by surprise.
The Ayatollah threw in the towel and wanted a cease fire.
It was also a case of shock and awe for the Democrats鈥擶arren, Markey, Pressley, McGovern, Trahan and their progressive allies in the media鈥擟NN and The New York Times鈥攚ho could not wait to downplay the amazing accomplishment by the U.S. military and Donald Trump.
Their hatred of Trump is so great that they seemed to be hoping for a mission failure rather than an American victory.
The next Babylon Bee headline should read: 鈥淒emocrats distraught as America wins.鈥
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at peter.lucas@botonherald.com.