Obama on Iran

Prez speaks up, but is it enough?

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What do you think?

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  • Posted By: Debunked! @ 06/22/2009 12:51:18 PM

    I can understand why Obama is hesitant to speak up. Quite honestly, if I were him I would be too! The Iranian people began protesting because they smelled fraud with the election and now it appears that they are protesting for justice and FREEDOM!!

    The Iranian protesters can very well and probably are fueling many Americans to defiantly protest. Let's face it, MANY Americans feel that the 2008 primaries and electiion was stolen. The Democrats stole the primaries from Hill and up to election night, there were several cases of ACORN fraud but everything was swept under the rug! There is no doubt in my mind that this administration is concerned about Americans uprising ESPECIALLY now that many people are starting to see things for what they really are and beginning to ween themselves off of the kool aid. Obama is in a tight spot!

    I've stated many times that everything is simply a matter of time...............and indeed it is!!

    I betcha Biden regret taking the job as VP. I bet he wished he would have remained a senator and Hillary Clinton made one of the worse decisions of her career when she decided to join this administration! She REALLY shot herself in the foot! Every single thing she said during the primaries is coming to light...............

    The Democrats have a real problem on their hands! We all REAP WHAT WE SOW!

  • Posted By: mindzeye @ 06/22/2009 4:04:52 AM

    It's understandable that Pres. Obama take a relatively moderate way to deal with Iranian crisis. Actually, US has long time been criticized as showing too much interference on other countries issues, esp since Iraqi War, for many people think Iraqi war is a great failure. However, dissapporoval voices should not and could not make US mute on IRAN crisis, at least give the Iranian young people ,most of them are students, give them some support, even some mouth supports counts a great deal. It's horrific to see NEDA dying on the street

  • Posted By: Vigilance @ 06/22/2009 2:31:41 AM

    The simple fact is that if Obama speaks too forcefully against Ahmadinejad and Khamenei, they will use it as an excuse to crack down on their people even harder, repress and beat more of them, and then blame it on the "Great Satan" of the U.S. - probably successfully. The 1948 Mossadegh coup that the CIA was involved in changes the situation dramatically and attaches unfortunate consequences to declaring public support that did not exist in situations like Reagan's "tear down the wall"..

    If Obama holds back, Ahmadinejad and Khamenei can NOT successfully blame the protests, OR their own brutality in dealing with them, on the United States. They are already trying, citing the support protests going on in Los Angeles, Germany, France, and other places as evidence of a Western attempt to undermine their regime, but it's not washing at present.

    What I do not want is for the Iranian people to think they are protesting alone. The world is with them in spirit. But I do believe that Wolfowitz is right that the U.S. should look into holding talks with Moussavi - without declaring official support - but as a recognition that there have been allegations of electoral fraud and as a nod of support to the democratic process.

    It's hard to know what to do here. Ahmadinejad and Khamenei could use the slightest provocation from the West to justify harsh crackdowns and brutality against their own people, forcing Obama to either ignore what could easily turn into a repeat of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, or start the use of military rhetoric that could lead to war, which would rile up Muslim extremists the world over in another clash of cultures and civilizations and weaken our efforts to combat extremism in Iraq and Afghanistan as well.

    I believe and hope, however, that what we are seeing is more like the Soviet Union in the late 1980s - a government whose flaws are becoming increasingly apparent, which cannot economically lead its people, and which is becoming increasingly unpopular and faltering in both domestic and world opinion. There would have been a time when I would have said that we should throw our support behind the Moussavists and use military force if necessary to bring change to Iraq - but with two wars going on already, a tremendous amount of bad blood between the West and Islam, and the world economy in crisis as it is, we simply do not have the luxury to support a military conflict that would end 10% of world oil shipping in the Straits of Hormuz and more than likely plunge the entire world into a Depression to rival the 1930s all over again.

    • Posted By: Vigilance @ 06/22/2009 2:33:16 AM

      "There would have been a time when I would have said that we should throw our support behind the Moussavists and use military force if necessary to bring change to Iraq "

      Sorry, that should have been "Iran". I guess eight years of watching my country's imperialist foreign policy are catching up with me. :P

      • Posted By: Vigilance @ 06/22/2009 2:42:01 AM

        In some ways, I wish Moussavi would be asked if he wants official recognition from other nations, including the United States - it would certainly frame the question in clearer terms.

        The problem is, any intervention or even recognition by the U.S. - given our recent history in Iraq as well as our longstanding history in interfering with Iranian government in the 1948 coup and by supporting the Shah - could provoke longstanding and simmering tensions to boil, and boil over, and hurt a lot of innocents in Iran. It may be one of those things where - much as it hurts and much as we wish we could do something directly - we can best stand in support with the protestors by trying our hardest not to see more violence provoked against them in the name of combating "the Great Satan".

  • Posted By: charityc @ 06/22/2009 12:01:24 AM

    First of all; I agree with what President Obama spoke about concerning the situation in Iran. 100%. Second, I am SO sick and tired of every time he says anything about anything, There are 50,000 polls to see if people agree with what he said or did! We elected this man to lead our country so why can't we trust him to do his job? No matter the subject or issue at hand there is always someone who will not agree and will fee as if he should have done differently.
    Just because he's not a warmonger as 2 out of our last 3 presidents doesn't make him passive. It just means he's thoughtful and contemplative. I appreciate that.

  • Posted By: Qidisrupt @ 06/21/2009 10:46:20 PM

    President Obama is not "timid" as the war criminal Lindsay Graham spouts. Obama is cautious and doesn't want to jump into another battle that is not ours to fight...like the war in Iraq. For one, this is a civil war between the people of Iran. Yes, the election was rigged and I support the Iranian people who are bravely revolting against a corrupt government. This battle is not the USA's battle. It only becomes our battle if that nutbag prez of theirs decides to mess with the US or Israel...then it becomes our fight.

  • Posted By: dfolsom @ 06/21/2009 10:13:50 PM

    Obama can't afford to criticize the Supreme Leader too harshly: they ayatollah will not simply step aside; Khamenei will fight, and probably win, and America can not simply choose to ignore what may be the next nuclear power. At the same time, the pressure that is being applied by Obama seems to have worked at least some: Ahmadinejad has said that he will not pursue nuclear weapons and he will join the global community in trying to denuclearize the world.

  • Posted By: mjno @ 06/21/2009 8:11:57 PM

    OBAMAWEEK. The American people should know Obama's strategy, he says and does NOTHING, then makes a statement based on what is best for HIM. Noone else but HIM. If our helathcare is rationed, and euthanasia supported, we will take to the streets.

  • Posted By: MChieco @ 06/21/2009 7:41:57 PM

    All these goobers knocking Obama are simply deluded. People such as Henry Kissinger, Conservative commentators like Pat Buchanan and George Will all said Obama did exactly the right thing . You cant tell Iranian people to take to the streets , otherwise the blood is on America's hands, And you cant condemn a goverment , only violence, when they may remain in power and eventually you will have to convince them to give up nuclear weapons. . All these arm chair quaterbacks , are you willing to go fight in Iran ? f course not, so just shut up..

  • Posted By: Chapalody @ 06/21/2009 6:50:23 AM

    After President Obama went all over the world making his speeches, giving those who heard him the impression that he was going to be the President who delivers them from the hardships they lived through because of Bush and this country, he took a back seat to the world in coming out and condemning Iran. President Obama has made it plain more times then once, that everything is a global effort, with universal rights and freedoms and now he says what's happening in Iran is an internal problem that must be handled by the Iranians. No one is expecting more from President Obama then what this country has stood for which are basic rights and freedoms. Look how long it took President Obama to speak about that. In fact he waited until the world spoke up before he even started flexing his muscles. After the world spoke up, President Obama step up from behind to the front once again making speeches because he feels it's safe to do so. President Obama is so concerned in not making a move unless it's a global effort that when the safety and security of this country is at stake he's not going to know what to do. President Obama said the world is watching, stop the violence, but the world is also watching President Obama. It's not so easy passing the buck to the world when your the President of this country. I believe it's call leadership. Stepping up from behind to the front with more speeches are not what the world expects from a President who promised so much from the reset button and smart power. Playing it safe all the time gives the wrong impression to our allies as well as to our enemies. Is that smart power at work?

  • Posted By: crayjen @ 06/21/2009 2:56:32 AM

    Obama has nothing to do with this...this is a protest against the regime not a Pro Obama rally. It's great that Obama isn't taking the bait that the Ayatollah wants him to take but if this election was happening a year ago, the situation would have unfolded just the same...

  • Posted By: greatmidwest @ 06/21/2009 1:32:18 AM


    President Obama has accomplsihed more in the Middle-east with regards to restoring America's reputation in this region, than our last President who failed at diplomacy and enaged our nation into senseless war. The war in Iraq is proving out to be one of our nation's biggest military mistakes and utter waste of taxpayers' money...we should have limited our military forces to Afghanistan this entire time. Iraq would have eventually fallen on its own in due time...wthout the multi-billion dollar price tag!

  • Posted By: MChieco @ 06/20/2009 11:53:21 PM

    With President Bush Iran was united against America, with President Obama Iran is divided against each other. Mission Accomplished..

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