Brazil and 'Our Enemies'

The only people obsessed here are the hawks that see every Iranian naval vessel as a dire threat.

Mary Anastasia O’Grady asks a stupid question:

In February, Brazil let two Iranian warships dock in Rio de Janeiro just after Lula had visited the White House. This was also odd. Is Brazil so obsessed with demonstrating its independence from the U.S. that it has decided to ally itself with one of the world’s most notorious antidemocratic states and a leading exporter of terrorism?

The panic over the Iranian ships that briefly docked in Rio was bizarre when it happened a couple months ago, and it is even stranger that hawks are still dwelling on it now. As I said in my recent column on U.S.-Brazilian relations, “There is no reason why this minor event should cause even a ripple in U.S.-Brazilian relations, but because of overreaching U.S. sanctions and a bankrupt Iran policy it was the cause of controversy.” The ships posed no threat, they left after being docked for just a little over a week, and the only reason that many hawks even pretend to care about this episode is so that they can try to smear Lula as an “ally” of Tehran. The only people obsessed here are the hawks that see every Iranian naval vessel as a dire threat.