America’s first president warned his compatriots and their posterity to steer clean of entangling foreign affairs. (Geo. Washington, Farewell Address, 1796). He also advised against the ills of faction, or party-based politics as these tend to foster the death of civility while at the same time allowing for the expansion of laws. This wise admonishment was dutifully copied into history books and then promptly forgotten.

When, at unhappy times, faction meets entanglement, bad things happen.

Being born of European breed, it is only natural that America would have some alliance with and affairs in Britain and the Continent. Even Washington did; Lafayette, we remember. What Washington was warning of was affairs to the point of controlling and confusing excess. Sometimes the excess is demonstrated in ridiculous fashion.

Maybe the dummies can’t read. Davesblogcentral.com.

Europe and America still have much in common, including many of the same problems. Refugees, immigration, and terrorism are a few of those modern commonalities. France’s Hollande has made a career out of brilliant failure to address Islamic counterculture and terror in his own country. On his sleepy watch the French have endured attack after attack after attack – mass murder upon mass murder. He should resign and auto-exile.

Instead he chooses to intercede in American politics with haughty words and unclear motives. Hollande, who has lain down for the French, is disgusted that one man at least says he might stand up for Americans. His counterpart in Germany, equally ineffective in operation if a tad more evil in theory, has wisely if oddly remained silent. If she will not also resign, at least she keeps quite. Entanglement with those two might be unwise to say the least.

France and Germany both have many connections with America, not least of which are their economic ties. They, along with Switzerland and the failing EU, have powerful central banks. The Swiss host the most powerful of all such institutions, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). With such money-changers we often find the intersection of entanglement and funny money, oftentimes with not-so-funny reactions.

America’s latest president recently made scandalous use of that interwoven, Monopoloy money, printing press relationship. He did so to facilitate the latest blunder in a decades-old string of entanglement in another part of the world.

In the 1950’s the people of Iran elected a new government – democratically and in pursuit of self-determination – then said to be approved conduct by the American elite. The elite, ever a fickle and criminal bunch, had a change of collective black heart. In 1953 the CIA essentially overthrew the new prime minister and his reform-oriented government in order to permanently keep the Shaw Mohammad in power. The Shaw declared himself emperor in 1967. This was good business for the military-industrial complex. It was also a fantastic example of entanglement writ large.

In 1979 the Shaw placed an order with the MIC for the purchase of American fighter jets, secured with a $400 million deposit. The transaction was poorly timed as the Iranian people had nearly simultaneously had enough of the Shaw’s oppression and, accordingly, ousted him in favor of religious zealots. 1979 also saw the advent of the long-lasting Iranian policy of hostage taking for political purposes.

True to form, around 2014 the Iranians seized several Americans on dubious charges and held them as pawns in their never-ending match with D.C. Around the same time the Iranians’ case against America for the return of that $400 million (plus interest) was moving through arbitration in the Hague. There was also the issue of Iran’s nuclear projects.

In January of 2016 all of these issues appeared to have been neatly wrapped up; Hussein Obama himself tied a little bow atop the package. Iran agreed to international monitoring, hostages were released, and the court case was settled. At first and independent glance it appeared the deal was a triumph of statesmanship. Maybe it was. Now the details are emerging; they do not look promising.

The Obama administration this year stealthily transferred $400 million in cash to Iran. This was the first payment (all on a single airplane to Tehran) under a $1.7 Billion settlement of the old 1979 case. The administration says it was done to facilitate the terms of the legal case. Critics say it amounted to a ransom payment. Both are likely correct. I, upon hastily reading a few laws, wonder if it did not also amount to a felony.

The $400 million payment was assembled of various European currencies and delivered on palates in a cargo plane. The money came from those European central banksters and was arranged by mysterious Swiss types – probably in the BIS. The administration admitted it could not (openly) send U.S. currency as that would violate U.S. law against paying cash to Iran.

Following the unpleasantness of 1979 the U.S. enacted laws prohibiting investment and most other transactions with Iran. Knowing the D.C. lust for criminalizing everything, I looked for something and found it.

It’s not just outright payments that are prohibited. Any attempt to evade the law and any conspiracy to do so also amounts to a violation. See: 31 C.F.R. § 560.203.  If you or I had attempted to invest money in Iran for whatever reason and had converted our U.S. dollars into Euros or Francs in order to do so, we would already be in jail for conspiracy to evade the law. The penalties are both civil ($250,000 or twice the amount of the transaction) and criminal ($1 million fines and 20 years in prison). 50 U.S.C. § 1705. In other words, it’s a felony.

A felony for you and I, that is. We all know now that the law does not apply to the government itself. No law so applies. D.C. isn’t so much above the law as it is the law. Thus, it is lawless. Any FBI agent who dares issue an investigative report here wastes his time and commits career suicide.

Criminal or not, if these payments were a final end to the Iranian debacle, they would be (tax) money well spent. They are not. Once the meddling starts, it has no end.

This is why Washington forewarned us. We ignore his advice at our peril.