Families of the Fallen and Wounded Warriors Leave Defenders of Iran Deal with Nowhere to Hide

It’s one thing to speak in the abstract about Iran’s ongoing war with the United States — a war in which it places bounties on the heads of American soldiers and supplies our enemies with their deadliest weapons — it’s quite another to hear from the victims themselves, to confront their pain and suffering. Gold Star families and wounded warriors are starting to come forward, telling their stories and putting the abject dishonor of the Iran deal front and center before the Obama administration, Congress, and the American people.

And make no mistake, the suffering is immense. Writing in the New York Post, Purdue student Maria James describes how her father, Lieutenant Colonel Leon James, died from an Iranian-made IED:

In September 2005, US Army Lt. Col. Leon James became one of the highest ranking American officers to be killed in action in Baghdad when one of those IEDs exploded. It killed two soldiers instantly and seriously wounded James, who died from his injuries two weeks later.

US intelligence analysis concluded that the bomb type that killed Lt. Col. James and others was consistent with those supplied by Iranian operatives.

Indeed, Iran not only supplied insurgents with IEDs, it supplied the deadliest IEDs of all, the so-called EFPs — explosively formed penetrators — bombs that sent projectiles straight through the armor of even our most well-armored vehicles. Unless you were there, it’s difficult to comprehend the impact of those IEDs –– the carnage they caused and the fear they generated. As one veteran friend told me, “When we knew the insurgents had received a new shipment of EFPs, we went outside the wire expecting not to come back.” I’ve seen with my own eyes what EFPs will do. Out of respect for the families involved, I won’t share those stories, but I live to this day with the pain and grief of those losses.

There are Americans who today live with the pain of loss and with the ongoing pain of terrible wounds from Iranian weapons — men like Staff Sergeant Robert Bartlett, who tells his story in a 60-second ad opposing the deal:

An Iranian IED tore his face to pieces — in his words, “cut me in half, from the left corner of my temple . . . through my jaw.” But the Iranians did more than attack Americans; they funded and enabled the brutal slaughter of civilians. Sergeant Bartlett tells this story as well, describing how Iranian-allied militias kidnapped kids, and “put bullets in their heads” in front of villagers. “That’s who we’re making a deal with.”

#related#Make no mistake, every single member of Congress who votes for the Iran deal is voting to fund and enable Iran’s ongoing war with the United States. The mullahs have openly declared that they will not change course. They will not change their ongoing policy (and practice) that is defined by the omnipresent chant, “Death to America.” Sergeant Bartlett says that every politician who supports this deal “will have blood on their hands.” He is absolutely right — that blood is American blood, it’s the blood of Iraqi and Syrian children, and it’s the blood of all those who will fall before an empowered, wealthy Iranian terrorist state.

The Obama administration has been telling the American people that the choice is between its dishonorable deal and war. But that’s exactly wrong. Iran’s war against America started long ago. So the real choice is not the Iran deal or war but rather the Iran deal and war — a war that America will actually help fund with $150 billion in sanctions relief. The only way to stop that war is to reject the deal and — for the first time — present Iran with a choice: Peace or ruin.