President Obama may believe his decision to cease negotiations for a longer term presence and partnership in Iraq is responsible and a campaign promise fulfilled. Unfortunately, our adversaries in the Middle East care little for American political spin. While not pleasant to watch, here is a video just released on an Iranian website which celebrates the victories of Qods Force Commander Qassem Sulaymani over America. When the Iranian regime gloats this much and feels itself to have won such a crushing victory over the United States, the chance that it will push further is near 100 percent.

As if on cue, here is Basij Commander Mohammad-Reza Naqdi speaking yesterday: “Today, the army of the enemy is totally defeated and events of the recent years show that they do not have the capacity to realize their wishes… The result of the heavy casualties and disgrace of the United States in Iraq led to emergence of a pro-Islamic Republic government and in Afghanistan they are dealt a major blow every single day… I say with certainty that the United States is so weakened that if we attack them today they not only lack the ability to counter it, but will also beg Iran for negotiations.”