Posted by
Steve on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 1:07:23 PM
There are two arguments about how Barack Obama is handling the situation in Iran. The administration argues that staying out of the problem completely is the correct course of action. They say that it gives the administration room to move regardless of who comes out on top after the situation calms down. The other side argues that the protesters need support wherever they can get it. The President of the United States represents the “Free World” and as its representative should speak out for freedom whenever and wherever it shows its head.
Most political commentators on the left agree with the administration that the best course of action is to do nothing. Since the commentators on the left have never disagreed with the administration on anything, that stance comes as absolutely no surprise at all. It would come as a shock if one commentator on the left made a comment that was in any way critical of the administration on anything.
Pat Buchanan is one of the very few commentators on the right that says that Barack Obama is doing the right thing. Since I frequently disagree with most of what Pat Buchanan says in recent years, I have a problem with his arguments.
The vast majority of the commentators on the right are saying that Barack Obama is making a mistake in his do-nothing stance towards the protestors in Iran. They say that Obama should speak out in favor of treating the protestors with respect. If the rulers in Iran treated the protestors with respect, the next step would be to replace the rulers in Iran and they know that. President Sarkozy of France has spoken out forcefully in favor of the protestors. Since the other western leaders are afraid to say anything, he is taking the lead in this matter. Somebody on the right must take the right stance. President Sarkozy of France feels that this is the right time to take the proper stance. This principled stance will gain him standing in the court of world opinion.
A woman was killed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the last couple of days. The video clip has been put on You-Tube for the world to see. I have not seen it yet, but have heard a description of what the clip shows. Shooting this young woman may be the major mistake that does in the rulers of Iran. In situations like this it just takes one stupid move like shooting a woman or a child to turn public opinion against you. In this case, general public opinion was against them around the world. In Muslim countries it was split. Leaders of most countries have stayed silent up until this shooting. I would expect that world leaders would start to turn against the Iranian rulers over the handling of this killing by the Revolutionary Guards. If that happens, the change in leadership in Iran will happen in short order. It may take a few weeks or months, but it will happen within the next year if the world leaders turn against the Iranian leadership.
I would love to see the Iranian revolution end soon. That would greatly reduce the chance of a world conflagration. They are on the verge of a nuclear bomb and ending their rule would greatly derail that effort. I do not see the new rulers in Iran making the same effort to get a nuclear bomb as the current rulers. They might pursue the bomb, but at this point the opposition party seems reasonable and someone you can work with. I pray that the nuclear ambitions of Iran get reduced by removing these radical Mullahs’s from the world stage.