Dear Ayatollah, From Your Friend Barack

The Washington Times has learned that President Barack Obama sent a secret letter to Iran’s “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weeks before the June 12th election. In the letter, Obama reportedly laid out the prospect of a new relationship of cooperation between the United States and Iran. The letter was delivered by a representative of the Swiss embassy to the Iranian foreign ministry.

The existence of this letter helps explain, but does not excuse, Obama’s reluctance in recent days to unambiguously support the protestors who have put their lives on the line for liberty in Iran. Once again they were beaten in the streets of Tehran today.

What exactly did the letter say? Ayatollah Khamenei actually hinted at its contents in a “sermon” Friday. He told a cheering crowd of fanatical thugs that they [the Obama Administration] had written “a letter to us to express their respect for the Islamic Republic and for reestablishment of ties.” If that is an accurate description of the letter, it is disgusting. The Islamic Republic is directly responsible for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. It is responsible for the deaths of its own citizens this very day. The last thing that regime should be getting from our president is a letter declaring our “respect.”

The president’s Iran policy is in shambles. Every assumption he made has been proven wrong. His desire even now to negotiate with the tyrants in Tehran, while blood drips from their hands, is beyond reprehensible.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-24-09)
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