State Department wants cooperation with Iran - right after saying Iran supports terror

From USA Today:

U.S.-Iranian military cooperation to stem advancing Sunni extremists in Iraq moved a theoretical step closer Monday after Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington is "open to discussions" with Tehran over the idea and would not rule anything out.

"I think we are open to any constructive process here that could minimize the violence, hold Iraq together, the integrity of the country and eliminate the presence of outside terrorist forces that are ripping it apart," Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo! News. He said President Obama was vetting "every option that is available," including drone strikes.

My how things change. It seems only yesterday that the State Department was ferociously accusing Iran of supporting terror in Iraq.

But it wasn't yesterday. It was six long weeks ago, when it released its 2013 State Sponsors of Terror report.

Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran continued its terrorist-related activity, including support for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and for Hizballah. It has also increased its presence in Africa and attempted to smuggle arms to Houthi separatists in Yemen and Shia oppositionists in Bahrain. Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and its regional proxy groups to implement foreign policy goals, provide cover for intelligence operations, and create instability in the Middle East. The IRGC-QF is the regime’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists abroad.

...
Despite its pledge to support Iraq’s stabilization, Iran trained, funded, and provided guidance to Iraqi Shia militant groups. The IRGC-QF, in concert with Hizballah, provided training outside of Iraq as well as advisors inside Iraq for Shia militants in the construction and use of sophisticated improvised explosive device technology and other advanced weaponry. Similar to Hizballah fighters, many of these trained Shia militants then use these skills to fight for the Asad regime in Syria, often at the behest of Iran.

On January 23, 2013, Yemeni authorities seized an Iranian dhow, the Jihan, off the coast of Yemen. The dhow was carrying sophisticated Chinese antiaircraft missiles, C-4 explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, and a number of other weapons and explosives. The shipment of lethal aid was likely headed to Houthi separatists in Northern Yemen. Iran actively supports members of the Houthi movement, including activities intended to build military capabilities, which could pose a greater threat to security and stability in Yemen and the surrounding region.

Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qa’ida (AQ) members it continued to detain, and refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. Iran allowed AQ facilitators Muhsin al-Fadhli and Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran, enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and also to Syria. Al-Fadhli is a veteran AQ operative who has been active for years. Al-Fadhli began working with the Iran-based AQ facilitation network in 2009 and was later arrested by Iranian authorities. He was released in 2011 and assumed leadership of the Iran-based AQ facilitation network.

Iran remains a state of proliferation concern. Despite multiple UNSCRs requiring Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear proliferation activities, Iran continued to violate its international obligations regarding its nuclear program. For further information, see the Report to Congress on Iran-related Multilateral Sanctions Regime Efforts (November 2013), and the Report on the Status of Bilateral and Multilateral Efforts Aimed at Curtailing the Pursuit of Iran of Nuclear Weapons Technology (September 2012).

So now the State Department is interested in allying with a state that has helped Sunni terrorists from Al Qaeda in order to...fight Sunni terrorists in Iraq. While at the same time it arms Shiite terrorists. Because they are so much better. The state terrorists are now wonderful people, because Shiites - like Hezbollah - are so much nicer than those mean Sunnis. Don't be overly concerned about the unintended consequences of supporting Shiite terrorists, just like you shouldn't worry about the unintended consequences of abandoning a nation before it had a chance to learn how to deal with terrorists.

And to be fair, Iran was only considered a state sponsor of terror from 1984 until, um, late April 2014. That was a long time ago.

Now that Iran's support of Shiite terrorists is in fashion, maybe the US will award them with less restrictions on building a nuclear weapon.. After all, you have to reward bloodthirsty jihadists when their interests appear to temporarily coincide with yours, don't you? It's the decent, human thing to do.

(h/t TIP)