Want to take a noninterventionist position? All right, then, take a noninterventionist position. This would mean not referring to Khamenei in fawning tones as the supreme leader and not calling Iran itself by the tyrannical title of “the Islamic republic.” But be aware that nothing will stop the theocrats from slandering you for interfering anyway. Also try to bear in mind that one day you will have to face the young Iranian democrats who risked their all in the battle and explain to them just what you were doing when they were being beaten and gassed. (Hint: Don’t make your sole reference to Iranian dictatorship an allusion to a British-organized coup in 1953; the mullahs think that it proves their main point, and this generation has more immediate enemies to confront.)

I’m not sure. It’s definitely doing what I was saying he shouldn’t do, but maybe the scene on the ground has changed enough at this point to warrant it? Of course, couple that with the fact that A-jad is going around saying that we’re meddling anyway….we might as well ‘meddle’ and get some rhetorical points in for the game that A-jad is calling.

I also think that what’s happening in Iran is far beyond the election now too, so it’s easier to come out in support of millions of Iranians rather than a particular candidate, even if the implication behind the support for those millions is that you’re a fan of their leadership.

Cheers!

Does this mean that Obama has officially “meddled” and that his foreign policy is no longer wise or brave or well thought-out? Has he now been counter-productive? Is he no longer “smart”? Has he ceased to “defer” to “the people to create a solution”?

Personally, I was glad to see him finally take a rhetorical stand, and Congress, too. It does seem to me, though that what he did is precisely what everyone else on this thread said his towering intellect and unparalleled political astuteness would never allow.

No doubt the “Persian street” is in the process of rallying around Ahmadinejad — with the memory of the Shah foremost in mind, no doubt. This “interventionism” will not stand!

/snark

“Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away” Wrong again, tell that to the thousands of religions destroyed by Christianity and later labeled “pagan”.

Iran also suppresses many current world views. For example, they accept the idea of women being stoned in the street for not wearing the proper clothing. If these goofballs stone women in the street for clothing, imagine what they are doing/going to do to the protestors.

You know why we wont do anything about this? Because we are weak, fat and stupid. But that is another rant, for another time.

It is not like I think Bush would have done better, I just hate the arrogance spewing from every liberal mouth when they talk about the socialism professor.

Obama has never done anything except be the president. I do not understand how many people put their trust into him. I just figure that they are the same people who know where Brittney Spears is now, or other morons of the like.

I have yet to hear an intelligent argument for anything Obama has done that has been good (prove me wrong, I don’t really care that much, I am just bored).

Anyways, no point here really, except that the Iranian government is brutal and I feel bad for the protesters who want freedom and receive no real moral support from the people of other countries. Fuck the politicians, we all know they are crooks, but the American populace doesn’t care either, total shame and loss of an opportunity to bring real democracy to the ME.

Now, we wait for the new revolution. Read today of Mousavi supporters going out on Basiji hunting parties.

“The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said – “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.”

Way to go, guys.