OUR NEW FRIENDS – AT 9:04 A.M. ET:   It is sickening to see the European businessmen lined up in Tehran to do business.  Do they know who they're trading with?  And it also sickens me to see American leftist groups lined up to support Obama's soft policy toward Iran.  It's the same old story – the informal linkage between the Western left and Islamism.  Both despise America.

And what is going on in Iran to arouse our revulsion?  From The Washington Times:

The number of executions carried out by Iranian authorities — often hanging dubiously convicted citizens from construction cranes in public — has risen sharply since President Hassan Rouhani took office in August, a surge most likely because of a secret power struggle within Iran’s notoriously veiled political system.

Away from positive news coverage of the Obama administration’s push for nuclear detente with Iran, the Islamic republic is executing about 66 people per month, 19 more per month than during the 2-year period before Mr. Rouhani took office, according to an analysis of figures compiled by nonpartisan groups including Amnesty International, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and various Iranian opposition activists in Washington.

Critics of the nuclear deal are citing the executions as evidence that Mr. Rouhani is far from the moderate reformer that many portrayed him to be upon his ascension to the presidency.

But U.S. intelligence sources, human rights advocates and high-level sources on Capitol Hill caution against jumping to that conclusion. In interviews with The Washington Times, several sources said reasons for the surge in executions are complex.

“There are indications that the Iranian regime is executing more people now compared to just a year ago,” one U.S. intelligence official told The Times on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive issues. “But it’s difficult to identify any overarching political strategy behind Tehran’s actions.”

COMMENT:  I love those "human rights advocates" and "intelligence sources" who caution us about being oh so judgmental.  Many "human rights" organizations today are nothing more than the grandchildren of the old Soviet-sponsored "peace" groups.  They have noble names, and that's all.

As far as "intelligence sources" are concerned, I'm not sure I'd want to stake my children's lives on the capability of intelligence agencies.  They are often politicized, and sing the piper's song.  One of the original purposes of the CIA was to provide a central clearing house for intelligence, with no political agenda.  We've seen how that's worked out.

February 4, 2014