Former Obama and Biden State Department official Richard Stengel is no stranger to the pages of PJ Media. We began covering his abject stupidity when he was managing editor of Time Magazine in 2006.
"The World According to Richard Stengel" could have been a regular feature at PJM, but reading what he had to say killed too many brain cells, so I threw back a couple of shots of Glenlivet instead.
Stengel is a piece of work. He's one of those earnest, anti-American Americans who populate our State Department and direct American foreign policy. The problem is that he has no business advocating for America. He's far more comfortable apologizing for America's strength and standing for something besides surrender.
Stengel found a home in Obama's State Department. Obama named Stengel under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, which was a perfect spot for him. He could meddle in a lot of departments and not be accountable to anyone.
This became clear when he "used his personal Twitter account to call for an investigation into Malaysia Airlines Flight 17." Stengel "prefaced the tweet with the State Department’s Twitter handle and ended it with the hashtag #UnitedForGaza, indicating his solidarity with the Palestinians."
From there, it was onward and downward for Stengel. He objected to the use of "Lone Wolf" when describing terror attacks by one person. He wanted to make Koran burning a federal offense. After he joined the Biden administration, he claimed that al-Qaeda and the Taliban together weren't as big a threat as Trump and his supporters.
These days, you can find Stengel comfortably ensconced at MSNBC. Where, to no one's surprise, he's taken Iran's side in their war with Israel.
"Why is it a foundation issue for Trump that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon?" Stengel asked.
"Why are we allied with Israel?"
I'm sure there's a primer written for third graders on why the U.S. is allied with Israel, but that might be beyond Stengel's understanding. He made that very clear when explaining why, when Iranians chant "Death to America!" with spittle-flecked lips and bloodshot eyes, they really, really, really don't mean like, you know, "Death to America."
As for allowing a state that wants the ultimate defense against those who insult the Prophet Mohammed and who believe the end times are near, getting their hands on a nuclear weapon might be a pretty stupid idea.
When pressed on Iranians' "death to America" chants, Stengel recalled a 2014 trip to the country. "I was sitting … at a rally," he said. "These young guys were chanting 'death to America.' … They finished the chants. And two young men came over and said, 'Are you American?' I said yes, [and they said,] 'We want to welcome you to our country. We love American culture. We love American movies.'"
"Iran is the most Western nation in the whole Middle East," Stengel went on. "We have much more in common with them than a lot of countries that we do have alliances with."
Stengel's remarks stand in stark contrast to reality in Iran, where chants of "death to America" are widespread, homosexual activity is a criminal offense punishable by death, and women are legally required to wear head coverings in public.
Contemplate the level of denial it takes to utter such nonsense. Iranians love American movies, so they don't want us dead? Which movies? There are plenty of American movies that portray the U.S. as evil. Besides, Stalin loved Hollywood movies, too, and he also wanted to blow the U.S. off the map.
MSNBC has eschewed all efforts to increase its audience base beyond the most radical leftist crazies. The reorganization that will decouple MSNBC from NBC News might change that.
Don't bet on it.
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