The man who endlessly pontificates on every topic imaginable strangely silent on Iran's new partnership with Al Qaeda

In his first year in office, President Obama gave 411 speeches and statements, using the teleprompter 178 separate times. On 52 occasions in the first year, he spoke specifically about the Democrat Party's plans to nationalize the health care system.

Yet on the subject of the stunning revelation that Iran is assisting Al Qaeda -- the same group that killed 3,000 innocent Americans -- the administration is mum, two months after the news first broke.

Consider: the man who doesn't hesitate to pontificate on Israel's apartments in East Jerusalem, the Cambridge Police Department, a faulty oil rig in the Gulf, the profit margins of health insurers, Arizona's enforcement of immigration laws and every other imaginable topic has suddenly turned into President Marcel Marceau.

Two months ago, General David Petraeus revealed the nefarious partnership.

Iran is assisting al Qaeda by facilitating links between senior terrorist leaders and affiliate groups, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East told Congress on Tuesday... On Tehran's ties to al Qaeda, Gen. Petraeus said the group "continues to use Iran as a key facilitation hub, where facilitators connect al Qaedas senior leadership to regional affiliates."

On Thursday, the Associated Press elaborated on the burgeoning partnership.

Al-Qaida operatives who have been detained for years in Iran have been making their way quietly in and out of the country, raising the prospect that Iran is loosening its grip on the terror group so it can replenish its ranks, former and current U.S. intelligence officials say.

This movement could indicate that Iran is re-examining its murky relationship with al-Qaida at a time when the U.S. is stepping up drone attacks in Pakistan and weakening the group's leadership. Any influx of manpower could hand al-Qaida a boost in morale and expertise and threaten to disrupt stability in the region.

U.S. officials say intelligence points to a worrisome increase in movement lately.

In late 2008, Saad bin Laden -- one of Osama's sons -- and four other AQ officials left Iran. Since then, other AQ members have slipped out of the country.

Some experts believe that anyone from al-Qaida freed to leave Iran must be returning to the battlefield...

Others believe that, with al-Qaida families left behind, terrorists may actually be working for Iran, gathering intelligence or passing messages before returning to Iran.

Either way, it's being noticed. Clare Lopez, a former CIA officer and a senior fellow at Center for Security Policy, says it's not a good sign.

"Movement like this doesn't augur well," she said.

And the man who never stops blathering about every topic known to man is strangely silent on the one issue of critical importance to all Americans.


Hat tips: Barry Rubin and Dan from New York.