"Iran has unfortunately always used and focused its funds on supporting
terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas, and it's done that when
there have been sanctions, it's done that when there haven't been
sanctions. It's always prioritized that."

Indeed - And this not from some right wing pundit but Anthony Blinken,
the Bolshevik sec of state !

Oh, the $$ can be used only for humanitarian purpose, huh ?
Do they really think that everyone is as rock stupid as their voting
base and believe everything [anything] that these serial liars say ?

Iran itself says they can spend the $$ any way they please - And in any
case, obviously, even if the $$ was rigidly controlled so it could not
be used to finance terrorism [impossible], then that would free up
finances to plow into, wait for it ,,, Terrorism.

Anyone remember the dems cackling that Trump was going to drag us into
endless wars, that his temperament would set the planet on fire ?
Well that was just yet ANOTHER big lie, look whats happened since the
Bolsheviks took over
* Massive, humiliating retreat in Afghanistan that has greatly
encouraged all our enemies
* Never ending war in Ukraine, with nuclear threats coming from Putrid
nearly every single day
* Conflagration in the mid east, which at the very least is going to
cost us trillions$
* Invasion of our own country, which is costing us BILLIONS every single
day, and showing no signs of abating

Intimidating to even wonder "whats next", easy to believe the ravenous,
planet wrecking chinks are ready to make some bold moves, with our
weapons stocks already at record lows feeding all our reserves to
Ukraine, and now the need to rush plane loads of ordinance to Israel
[have already seen it happening real time on flight tracking apps]

Contrast all of that with the peace and prosperity was saw under Trump
and its easy to see that peace and prosperity are the very last things
that Bolsheviks want.

```````````````````````

Biden Admin Adamant Its $6 Billion Hostage Deal Had No Connection to
Hamas Attacks. Critics Are Not So Sure.

The Biden administration spoke with one voice this weekend. In addition
to expressing support for Israel in its war against Hamas, the
administration's spokesmen wanted to make one thing clear: Not a single
dollar of the $6 billion it sent to Tehran last month helped fund the
Hamas terrorists who murdered, kidnapped, and raped Israelis over the
weekend.
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"Let's be clear: the deal to bring U.S. citizens home from Iran has
nothing to do with the horrific attack on Israel," State Department
spokesman Matthew Miller said on Saturday as numerous analysts and GOP
lawmakers blamed the Biden administration for helping to fund Hamas's
historic war. "Not a penny has been spent, and when it is, it can only
go for humanitarian needs like food and medicine. Anything to the
contrary is false."

Other senior Biden administration officials, both on and off the record,
have made the case that the deal it struck to bring five Americans home
from Iran in no way aided Hamas's Saturday assault.

"Not a single cent from these funds has been spent, and when it is
spent, it can only be spent on things like food and medicine for the
Iranian people," White House National Security Council spokeswoman
Adrienne Watson said in a statement. "These funds have absolutely
nothing to do with the horrific attacks today and this is not the time
to spread disinformation."

That case got harder on Sunday when the Wall Street Journal reported
that Iranian officials, in a series of meetings in Beirut, helped plan
Saturday's assault, all while the country was negotiating the hostage
deal with the United States. And a Hamas spokesman told the BBC on
Saturday that Iran’s government provided backing for the mass terror
spree in Israel.

Republican foreign policy leaders say that while the $6 billion in funds
that were a part of that deal did not literally fund the Hamas attack,
the U.S.-enabled payments likely allowed Iran to reallocate significant
parts of its budget—including funds it would have been forced to spend
on food and medical aid—toward its global terror operations.

"Iran normally has to allocate its limited foreign exchange reserves for
food/medicine months in advance to facilitate trade flows. Not anymore,"
said Gabriel Noronha, a former State Department adviser on Iran. "The $6
billion payment freed up huge reserves to ensure that Iran could
continue this support."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday seemed to concede the point,
telling NBC News' Kristen Welker, "Iran has unfortunately always used
and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like
Hamas, and it's done that when there have been sanctions, it's done that
when there haven't been sanctions. It's always prioritized that."

A Treasury Department report in 2019 indicated that the Iranian military
has sent tens of millions of dollars to Hamas’s military wing for
terrorist activities. Iranian state news outlets reported in 2021 that
the government was funding Hamas’s production of rockets used to attack
Israeli civilians.

Jonathan Schanzer, an Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, said the Biden administration’s decision to unfreeze the
cash in exchange for U.S. prisoners also encouraged the mass
hostage-taking by Hamas.

"Whether the cash has been transferred to Iran or it hasn’t, the message
the United States sent to Iran was this: Hostage diplomacy is fair
game," Schanzer said. "Hamas appears to have taken that message to
heart. The end result is that five Americans have been sent home, but
more than 100 Israelis are now held in Gaza."

Republican lawmakers are blasting the Biden administration over the Iran
funding and blaming it for bankrolling Hamas’s attack.

"Money is fungible and regime officials calculate for it, including for
shoring up their foreign exchange reserve," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R.,
Texas), adding that the administration was "on track to send over $45
billion to the ayatollah this year through waivers and not enforcing
sanctions, including this $6 billion they admit was ransom."

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/bidens-6-billion-ransom-payment-to-iran-helped-fund-hamass-attack-on-israel-gop-lawmakers-say/
--
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for
light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

On Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:51:32 -0400
JeSSe <zo@so.org> wrote:

> Biden Admin Adamant Its $6 Billion Hostage Deal Had No Connection to
> Hamas Attacks. Critics Are Not So Sure.

Of course they aren't. Any excuse or reason to attack Biden and Democrats will do.

Iran has long supported the Palestinian struggle as have others so perhaps some of that money did find its way to Hamas but it's ridiculous to try and connect paying that money to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. The idea that if the money hadn't been paid then it wouldn't have happened is utterly laughable.

One can equally say money provided by Biden, Trump and other American presidents to Israel is as much of a cause for the Al-Aqsa Flood operation as money paid to Iran is.