Obama Sides with Islamic Iran on their 1983 Bombing that Killed 241 US Marines

By Pamela Geller Via Grendel Report

Obama Sides with Islamic Iran on their 1983 Bombing that Killed 241 US Marines

Once again, Obama sides with our mortal enemies, a cornerstone of his foreign policy meticulously detailed in my book, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America. This is consistent with the same anti-America, anti-freedom, pro-jihad platform we have suffered the last three years.

Image001

Marines carry Lance Cpl. Paul Kotoucout of the rubble following the 1983 truck bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut. The blast killed 241 U.S. servicemen.

Back in September 2007, there was official recognition that Islamic Iran declared jihad warfare on America back in ’83 when they murdered 241 Marines in Beirut in what was the single largest non-nuclear explosion since World War II. Iran had to pay $2.65 billion to the families of the 241 U.S. service members killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth described his ruling as the largest-ever such judgment by an American court against another country. “These individuals, whose hearts and souls were forever broken, waited patiently for nearly a quarter century for justice to be done,” he said.

Iran created the Muslim jihad group Hezbollah, which carried out the homicide bombing in Beirut. It was the worst Islamic (or any) terrorist act against U.S. targets until the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Obama ‘taking Iran’s side’ on damages from ’83 bombing that killed 241 Marines

Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in a bid to reconcile with the Teheran regime, has blocked legislation that would hold Iran accountable for the Hizbullah bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines in 1983.

A survivors group has asserted that the administration is pressuring Democrats in Congress not to support a bill that would enforce massive judgements against Iran by the families of the Marines. In 2007, a U.S. federal district court judge found Iran liable for the Beirut bombing and ordered Teheran to pay $2.65 billion in damages.

“This administration talks a lot about sanctions, but we know Iran is watching this case closely and, astonishingly, Obama’s people are taking Iran’s side,” Lynn Smith Derbyshire, a lobbyist for the legislation, said.

Ms. Derbyshire, whose brother Marine Capt. Vincent Smith was killed in the 1983 bombing, said survivors and their families were urging Congress to support amendments to the Iran Sanctions Bill, scheduled for mark-up in the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 2.

A U.S. Marine searches the rubble on Oct. 31, 1983, after an Oct. 23 attack on the headquarters of the U.S. troops of the multinational force in Beirut, Lebanon. In twin attacks on U.S. and French military installations, suicide bombers driving trucks killed 299 French and Americans, including 241 U.S. service members.

 

But they said committee members were being pressed by the White House not to vote for amendments that would hold Teheran responsible for the 1983 attack and transfer the $2.65 billion awarded in 2007. The Iran Sanctions Bill would enable U.S. sanctions on foreign companies that purchase or ship oil through the Iranian government or sell telecommunications equipment to Teheran.

“We have petitioned Congress to prevent the government of the Islamic republic of Iran from avoiding its obligations to pay judgments awarded to past and future victims and survivors of Iranian terrorism,” Ms. Derbyshire said on Jan. 30. “We’ve spoken with many sympathetic members of Congress but they won’t act while this administration is blocking what we and the American people know is right.”

Over the last decade, the families of Iranian-sponsored attacks have won billions of dollars in suits against the Teheran regime. But the federal government, particularly the State Department, has blocked access to Irania assets or funds in the United States.

Ms. Derbyshire said she represents more than 1,000 families across the United States in the campaign to target Teheran and its finances. The group has also lobbied Congress to strengthen the U.S. law that bans Iran from laundering money in the United States to finance Hizbullah and other insurgency proxies.

“We can show that international banks have moved billions of dollars of funds from Bank Markazi, Iran’s central bank, through banks in the U.S.,” Ms. Derbyshire said. “So far that money has been untouchable. We believe that is wrong. We are confident that most Americans would agree. Yet, the Obama administration is thwarting our efforts.”

Posted by Pamela Geller on Thursday, February 02, 2012