'The Mahdi Does Not Negotiate. Neither Should We'

by Charles S. Faddis - February 6th, 2012 - Tampa Bay Online

Several years ago, prior to my retirement from the CIA, I was meeting with a senior Iranian asset in the Middle East. I had finished debriefing him on the intelligence he had to provide, and we had launched into a more expansive conversation about the overall direction of American policy toward Iran. I was trying to explain the rationale behind our sanctions regime and the thought process that had led us to conclude that we could persuade the Islamic Republic of Iran to modify its behavior.

The asset interrupted me. "You really don't have any idea who you are dealing with, do you?" he asked.

The real answer to that question is NO! Americans are delusional. Those who have a clear understanding of what is happening in the world are smeared repeatedly by our press as extremists. And unfortunately, average Americans accept that. Even Republican leadership accepts that.

Do you really think that Mitt Romney has a clue who the Islamo-fascists are? Do you think he has the guts to contest a long term battle with them? Do you think he will spend an ounce of political effort in explaining to the American people how we survive? He will avoid the issue and try and be popular.

America is finished, whether Barack Obama wins another term or Mitt Romney replaces him. I would not put much trust in Gingrich, Paul or Santorum either. And that is truly sad. At a critical time in our history, we have failed to produce a leader that the people in our society will listen to. Don't you wonder whether it is a problem with our leaders or a problem with the idiots who vote?