If you said the troops, you fail.

Barack Obama has sided with Iran's Islamist government over a US court decision intended to provide restitution to the families of Marines killed in the 1983 attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut.

Devlin is among 30 Massachusetts relatives of victims of the Beirut attack who have been fighting for more than a decade to get compensation for what many consider the first major terrorist attack against the United States. After a federal judge ruled in 2007 that Iran was liable for $2.65 billion in damages to be shared by 150 families seeking restitution, they believed they were on the cusp of victory.

But now, the Obama administration is going to court to try to block payments from Iranian assets that the families’ lawyers want seized, contending that it would jeopardize sensitive negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and establish a potentially damaging precedent.

In a little-noticed filing in federal court, the Justice Department is arguing that giving the money to the victims “can have significant, detrimental impact on our foreign relations, as well as the reciprocal treatment of the United States and its extensive overseas property holdings.’’

Yeah -- like I guess that allowing the families of slain heroes to collect damages from a government long acknowledged to be a state sponsor of terrorism will lead Iran to continue its illegal nuclear program. Oh, that's right -- it is already thumbing its nose at the US and the UN on that one. And there is little likelihood of Mahmoud the Mad becoming a lover of America over this decision.

But hey, Obama has been trying to appease the Muslim world since even before he was elected -- he knows he's already lost those who love America.