‘We Have Asked for It Back’
On Monday, President Obama formally asked Iran to return a top-secret surveillance drone that Iran said it shot down on December 5.
During a White House press conference, President Obama said, “We have asked for it back. We’ll see how the Iranians respond.”
But the response from Iran is shaming America.
A headline from Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency read, “Obama begs Iran to give him back his toy plane.”
The agency asked, “We are still wondering how he shamelessly asked Tehran to give the U.S. back the stealth drone which had violated the Iranian airspace for espionage.”
Iran’s defense minister was more blunt. “The American espionage drone is now Iran’s property, and our country will decide what steps to take regarding it,” he said, according to the bbc.
Speaking Monday night on Venezuelan state television, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, “The Americans have perhaps decided to give us this spy plane.” He also said Iran is making progress learning to control the plane and analyzing its systems.
According to Reuters, both China and Russia have sent teams to Iran to look at the drone. High-level Iranian commanders have suggested it will be sold to the highest bidder.
Why didn’t President Obama send a recovery mission, or at least destroy the drone? U.S. officials said they were worried it could be considered “an act of war.”
The reality is that Iran is already at war with America—and has been for decades. Its agents are actively fighting U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, it tried to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. on American soil. It is the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism and is working to become a nuclear power.
America has allowed and even encouraged this rise to power—by always taking a soft approach in order to avoid offending Iran. In the case of this drone, not only might Iran benefit materially, as well as China and Russia, but also, Washington’s weak response has significant national security implications.
As God prophesied in the Bible, the pride in America’s power has been broken. This latest incident provides yet more sad proof.