The Wisdom Of Obama's Delay on Iran

There has been alot of posturing on the right regarding President Obama's slow response to the upheaval in Iran. You won't find much support for the president on my pages, but in this case, I find myself being in agreement with him. I think that the administration has acted wisely in this instance.

One goal of our middle east policy must be to allow any nations citizens the right to choose their own government, regardless of it's opinion of the U.S. or it's cooperation with us. We should be seen in the world as a people and government to be emulated, and that is the case with the Iranian people. They may have elected the opposition to the ruling class, and put themselves by danger doing so. What we must do as Americans, is allow them to voice their anger and frustration in the streets without giving the government any reason to crack down on them any harder than they are now. If the U.S. were to throw it's public support behind the protesters, then Khameni and the ayahtollahs can claim external influence on the demonstrations and begin a show of force that they could say was in response to our interference.

Today the president made a statement that allowed him to walk a thin line that is more PR than statesmanship. His comments were directed to the ruling Ayatollahs, requesting that they stop using deadly force in dealing with the protesters, who are legitimately voicing their opposition to an obviously rigged national election. The statement was directed at the governments unbalanced repsonse to what is happening in the streets of Iran. It did not address the election or the will of the rulers, but it allowed the U.S. to let the protesters know we are paying attention.

In addition, I want to say how moved I have been by the reports of ordinary Americans using the social networking system on the internet to keep informed of events on the streets of Tehran. It has been used as well to send support to those who are risking their lives. If you haven't had an opportunity to do so, I am urging everyone to use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace to send a message to the Iranian people that we are watching, and supporting their moment in the sun.