Google images
There is a time for talking and a time for action. Unfortunately President Obama has a long history of talking and no action that goes back 12 years. But this isn't the Illinois State Senate and this isn't the US Senate where he can disappear and no one will notice. He can't vote "present" 100 times as President of the United States. And he can no longer duck on Iran. the time for stronger words was a week ago. The time has come for action.
As he pointed out in his last press conference, he is the President and he has to act on behalf of all the people.And it is highly unlikely that if the American people have their say, that they are going to want to negotiate anything with the thugs in power in Iran after their storm trooper like attacks on demonstrators.
In every world crisis there have been the appeasers. Those who want to stand aside and say its not our problem and hope it will go away. Or just ignore it. The biggest reason given for Obama's position of "not meddling" is to preserve the ability to negotiate with Iran on their nuclear ambitions. Given what has gone on in Iran the past two weeks that is no longer an option. The world has learned many lessons when it comes to appeasing dictators who will murder their own people, that negotiations are a fools errand. And it is time for Obama to learn those lessons and act on them.
It's time for Obama to abandon his long term goal of negotiating with the current Iranian regime --- negotiations which had no hope of succeeding anyway.It's time for Obama to face facts. It's over. You cannot and do not "negotiate:" with leaders who who are dishonest and kill unarmed demonstrators who are protesting a rigged election.
The reports of violence coming out of Iran at the hands of government thugs has crossed the line into a level of brutality that can longer be negotiated with. One Iranian woman on her cell phone horrifically described on CNN the attacks she witnessed, including that government forces were using axes on the demonstrators.
There can no longer be any "outstretched hand" to the current government of Iran. America doesn't offer an outstretched hand to governments that shoot, murder, beat and take axes to their own people. Iran's fist must be met with another fist. Sanctions. Embargos. Isolation. Condemnation not just by the United States but by the whole world.
The other day I compared Obama's tepid responses to events in Iran to the 38 people in 1964 who heard the screams of Kitty Genovese as she was being stabbed to death and did nothing, not even call the police.Its time for Obama to stop ignoring the screams of the Iranian demonstrators as they are beaten, murdered and hacked to death. It's time for him to stop worrying about whether the Iranian government will see him as "meddling". and will want to negoitate.In fact it's time for him to realize this isn't about him.
And as the violence escalates it's time for Obama's defenders to stop telling us how "pitch perfect" he has been in his responses. His responses have been abysmal. And they have produced nothing. All we heard from Obama's defenders was how smart he's been to show restraint so that the Iranian government couldn't use it as an excuse to be more violent. The government used more violence anyway and used the US and other European countries as the excuse. So, wrong again..
The time has come for Obama to forget about negotiating. He is already starting from a position of weakness and appeasement. Ahemedejad would eat him alive.They know that Obama's silence is because he wants something. They would only use it as propaganda to strengthen their hand and give up nothing.He has to get tough and that should mean tougher sanctions, even embargos and an organized consensus of nations standing up against Iran, including other middle eastern countries.
Obama;s approach has been a clear mistake. Those who said that stronger responses by Obama would only cause the government to crack down harder can now see they were badly miscalculating. They didn't need an excuse.
Obama has failed to realize that a stronger stance against Iran is the best chance he has for a positive outcome regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions. Stronger sanctions, condemnation,embargos, anything to weaken the present regime who want one thing -- to stay in power. That will have more of an effect than what Obama had planned to do -- talk. If he wants to talk he can demand that the safety of the demonstrators be respected by the government.
It's time for Obama to stop acting like one of Kitty Genovese's neighbors. It's time for him to meddle and take some action against Iran and rally the rest of the world behind him.
UPDATE: For all of Obama's posturing and not wanting to meddle, Ahmedenejad issued a statement today telling telling Obama to "stop interfering" in Iran's affairs. And as if to prove the point I made above, that Amedenejad knows it's Obama who wants something from him in a negotiation not the other way around Ahmedenejad added,
"Do you think that this kind of behavior is going to solve any of your problems? It will only make people think you are someone like Bush"
Notice Ahemedenejad's use of the words "your problems". He is well aware that Iran's nuclear ambitions are Obama's problem, the West's problem not his. And if Obama thinks that by backing off , Amedenejad is going to help Obama with "his" problems then Obama is sadly mistaken.
Comments
That didn't seem to work so well with China.
What we need to do is get more computers and camera phones into the hands of Iranian people, and allow them more of a connection with the outside world. "Sanctions. Embargos. Isolation." will empower those the west would prefer moved out of the way of their society heading towards modernity.
Let them think the US is week, let them think Obama is a push over. Who cares if they think that, they have been burning our flag and chanting "death to America" during their religious services, I might prefer being seen as weak for a while and see how that goes, rather than their vowed enemy with no diplomatic relations. If being a push over from a weak country will bring them to the table, and we get what we want (including rights for their people), then let's go for it.
We and they know that militarily we could put them out of business in a couple days, so they can call us weak all they want, and they can call Mike Tyson a wimp if they like
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!