Is Joe Biden’s crew attempting to bring him down, or is it simply a reflection of his ineptness?

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated of then-Vice President Joe Biden in his 2014 memoir “Duty,” “I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades,” according to the Atlantic.

Nothing has changed, yet some Democrats are now “concerned.”

Veteran Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey “expressed concerns Monday amid reports that the Biden administration agreed to unfreeze $6 billion for Iran in exchange for five U.S. prisoners.” according to The Hill. Menendez serves as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The timing could hardly be more inconvenient. Though the deal was undoubtedly in the works before to 9/11, the news broke on the anniversary of the country’s deadliest terrorist strike. Talk about a horrible first impression.

Menendez told reporters, “This is an example of why we have to go ahead and make it very clear to Americans that they cannot travel to certain places in the world where they are likely to ultimately become a hostage. Until we do that we will constantly be in a set of circumstances” in which the U.S. is put into the unsavory position of negotiating with terrorists.

One of Menendez’ “concerns” about dealing with Iran about wrongfully held American captives is that it will encourage other unfriendly regimes to do the same. So why not? If five hostages can put $6 billion on the table for the Iranians, there is clearly a profit to be made in the hostage trading game.

According to The Hill, the Biden administration maintains the $6 billion comes from unfrozen oil funds and is “limited to the purchase of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods.”

According to National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making sure “Iranian funds can move from one restricted account to another and remain restricted to humanitarian trade.”

That’s like preventing rain from falling during a hurricane. The Iranians are not known for following American rules. They’d ruin their reputation if they did. If Blinken believes he can force the Iranians to play fair, he should consult a doctor. Not only do you not talk with terrorists, but you also do not trust them.

GOP Senator Mitt Romney of Utah shares Menendez’s “concerns,” according to The Hill.

“If we’re paying a billion dollars per kidnapped individual, then you’re going to see more kidnappings. That’s why you don’t negotiate with terrorists; that’s why you don’t negotiate with kidnappers,” Romney said. “The idea of basically paying to release, in this effect, a hostage is a terrible idea”

When leading Democrats and RINOs criticize Biden’s foreign policy judgments, it’s time to be concerned – and there’s enough of it.

GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma stated on his official website, “It has been a longstanding policy of the United States that we will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not pay ransom money to free hostages.”

That was in 2016. Cole was criticizing the Obama administration for, well, negotiating with terrorists.

“Unbelievably, we have since learned that the Obama administration has also paid Iran $1.3 billion dollars in 13 separate payments of $99,999,999.99,” Cole lamented. “This, they explained, was the interest we owed Iran for keeping the $400 million over the past few decades. This defies common sense by any definition. A country that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days and has been a sworn enemy of the West and which is widely recognized as one of the leading state sponsors of terrorism should not be rewarded with a refund on an arms deal along with nearly 4 decades of interest.”

To say that it “defies common sense” is an understatement.

Obama appeared to be treating Iran on an equal footing.

Is Biden carrying on Obama’s legacy?

You make the call.

Terrorists are negotiated with by the US government. That shouldn’t surprise you. Welcome to liberal America, where foreign policy is illogical and the American people are kept captive.

Both Bob Menendez and Mitt Romney are worried when they should be terrified. But they aren’t. Menendez believes the latest Iranian hostage arrangement will never reach the Senate floor for a vote in which each senator’s vote may be recorded. I’m sure he’s overjoyed about it.

Biden, Blinken, and the rest of this government will not be held accountable. The United States will continue to negotiate with terrorists, encouraging greater terrorism against the United States.

“Live Free or Die,” written by Gen. John Stark on July 31, 1809, was published. As far as the feds are concerned, it’s more like “shut up and bend over” in 2023. Yes, Joe Biden and his administration are inept. It’s a Democratic custom.