Ali Khamenei

Years into its governance, the previous administration commonly blamed the administration before it (the presidency of George W. Bush) for many of its problems. I found that objectionable at the time, and agree that Donald Trump's comments on the "mess" left by Barack Obama are equally objectionable. Every president runs for office knowing full well that his predecessor made mistakes, sometimes very serious, and that his administration would have to deal with them as part of governance or foreign policy.

On the foreign policy front the most egregious mistake made by the Obama administration (and there were many) was the "Iran deal." Still defended by many progressives and some Democrat politicians, the deal was intended to normalize Iran over the years and preclude the immediate development of nuclear weapons by the Islamist government of Iran.

Let see how things are working out.

Sure, Iran has violated their agreement repeatedly, has continued its belligerent threats, has launched medium range missiles in violation of UN sanctions, and has been otherwise aggressive within the Middle East and beyond. But has it, as Barack Obama hoped, begun to normalize? AFP reports:

Tehran (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Tuesday for the "complete liberation" of Palestine from the "tumour" of Israel, renewing his regime's refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist.

Khamenei was speaking at the sixth international conference in support of Palestinian intifada (uprising), one of a number of showcase events the Tehran authorities organise in solidarity with the Palestinians.

"This cancerous tumour, since its start, has grown incrementally and its treatment must be incremental too," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

"Multiple intifadas and continuous resistance have succeeded in achieving very important incremental goals.

"It continues to advance towards its other objectives, ultimately the complete liberation of Palestine," he added.

He listed Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 and from Gaza in 2005 as two major achievements so far.

Moderate President Hassan Rouhani, and the conservative brothers who head parliament and the judiciary -- Ali Larijani and Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani -- flanked the supreme leader as he spoke.

Unwittingly, Khamenei has provided insight into Islamist hegemonic strategy across the west—incremental actions followed by incremental successes, each leading to the ascendency of Islam and the downfall of the infidel. This template is assisted by progressives in the West who refuse to understand or even name the threat posed by Islamists, thinking that all Muslims will assimilate and moderate when recent history indicates that exactly the opposite will occur.

Yet again, the the main stream media didn't report Khamenei's speech—it doesn't fit the narrative of a "deal" that will enhance world peace. Nor does it regularly report the lack of Muslim assimilation and normalization that has been evidenced in many European countries (including Sweden, by the way) and the resultant violence and crime.

Iran and Islamists worldwide are the West's enemy. Donald Trump and his national security team understand that. Hopefully, they'll fashion foreign policy that works to thwart Iran's hegemonic ambitions and its terror sponsorship around the world,. As important, they should disregard the crazy notion that unvetted immigration from hotbeds of Islamist thought and terror pose no threat to Western countries and cultures.