The GOP gets the Iran prisoner swap wrong

MAJ (Join to see) That is exactly what it did. Iran maximized the publicity, so that instead of it looking weak with headlines reading U.S. lifts sanctions on Iran -- all we saw and all that was talked about is, Iran Releases U.S. Sailors...

This is one of the most muddled opinion pieces I've ever read. The title appears intended to incite Republicans to fits and invite Democrats to read it just to see what the GOP got wrong this time. The author then sucker punches with a criticism of Obama and his feckless handling of diplomacy, specifically vis-a-vis Iran. That's when the story line really goes off the tracks.

Suddenly we awoke to find that Iran had become the dominant power in the Middle East? Hell, it's been the dominant power for many decades, centuries if you trace its origins to the Persian Empire of antiquity. Indeed, Iran was the stabilizing influence in the Middle East until Jimmy Carter knocked the props out from under the Peacock Throne. That's when the trouble really began. The US then turned to the Nazis (the Baathists are the Arab equivalent) in Iraq. Great choice that. And now we're left depending on the Saudis to bring some order to the region. Good luck with that. Of course the author recognizes none of this.

The author then dismisses the "wisdom" of refusing to negotiate with terrorists when he off-handedly says it's bunk. (Well, that's his opinion and we know what opinions are, don't we?)

So, where does he support the concept of the essay mentioned in his title: "The GOP Gets the Iran Prisoner Swap Wrong"? I don't know. I haven't found it yet. Excuse me while I reread the article...