Was Iran paid to free hostages?

There is a big controversy currently over whether the Obama Administration secretly paid Iran a bunch of cash to get our hostages released.

First of all, getting our folks released is a good thing. I have long thought that the policy that we don’t pay ransoms and that we don’t negotiate with terrorists is too rigid and unrealistic. Better to do whatever it takes, but on the down low, so as not to encourage repeat offenders.

In this case with Iran, it seems we legitimately owed Iran the money from the 1979 arms deal. What is unfortunate and amateurish is that the Administration announced the case settlement, however legit, on the same day the prisoners were released, certainly giving the appearance that the events were linked: “You release our guys, we’ll give you your guys, plus that hunk of cash we owed you.”

It is a self-inflicted political wound, and now the president and Secretary Kerry have to endure the righteous wrath of Congressional Republicans.

However irksome the deal, Big Picture it is No Biggy. Let me use this occasion to re-state my strongly held beliefs that Shiite Iran does not represent a strategic threat to America or Israel. The nuclear deal was a good thing.

We don’t have to love the Persians, but our true enemy is Sunni Saudi Arabia, which aside from conspiring to slaughter us on 9/11 they also currently fund and direct every anti-Western savage Radical Islamist terror group from al Nusra to ISIS to al Qaeda to al Shabab. Wake up Washington and smell the gun powder.