The Patriot Post® · Waiting for the Ransom

Fox Business network interviewed Saeed Abedini [Thursday]. Abedini is a Christian pastor who was one of the four hostages held by Iran and released at the same time the Obama administration was flying $400 million in cash to Tehran. Obama [Thursday] scoffed at the notion that the money was ransom for the hostages.

Pastor Abedini says on the night of their release the hostages were taken to the airport and told they would soon be free. But hours passed with nothing happening. Abedini asked one of their guards what was causing the delay. The guard told him, “we [the Iranians] are waiting for another plane,” and only then are we “going to let you go.”

Sounds like a classic ransom swap from every thriller kidnap movie ever made. The hostages aren’t released until the thugs have the money. By the way, how is the money delivered? By check? Wire transfer? No, the thugs always say “we want cash in unmarked currency” which is exactly what the Obama administration delivered on that fateful night.

Our “lap dog” media is ignoring Abedini’s interview. There were virtually no follow-up questions [Thursday] to Obama’s denial that he paid ransom, and by doing so he has put countless Americans in danger of being seized by foreign dictators and terrorist groups.

World Vision And Hamas

A big and very disturbing story has erupted in Gaza involving the Christian charity World Vison and Hamas, the Islamic terrorist group.

After a comprehensive investigation by the Israeli government, the director of World Vision’s Gaza operation, Mohammed el-Halabi, has been charged with diverting aid funds meant to help children to Hamas and its military operations.

Apparently, el-Halabi has been a Hamas member since his youth. Investigators discovered that he created fictitious humanitarian projects that provided “cover” for the transfer of funds to Hamas. One example cited was a greenhouse project that was then used to hide sites where Hamas was building tunnels to launch terror attacks in Israel.

The list of projects that ended up benefitting Hamas is breathtaking. $1.5 million a year from World Vision’s budget was given in cash to Hamas combat units, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Another $2 million earmarked for education and health in Gaza went instead for payments to the families of Hamas terrorists.

The World Vision money used in this Hamas plot originated in aid money from the United States, England and Australia. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has suspended funding of World Vison programs in Palestine. The U.S. should do the same.