Rosett: Translating Obama
President Obama spoke up Friday on Iran to say, again, that the massive rebellion there “is not something that has to do with the outside world.”
On Saturday, Obama sort of reversed that, by saying that “the universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected,” and “the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.” Except he also sort of reversed his reversal, by illustrating the U.S. role as basically a spectator part, sitting around to bear witness, while Obama assures us that in what Martin Luther King called “the arc of the moral universe,” somewhere out there, justice awaits.
So, to translate Obamaspeak into plain English: The current havoc and terror being inflicted on Iranian demonstrators is, for the U.S., still really nothing to do with us. And don’t worry, in the long-run, it will all work out.
Ummmm…. OK. And in the long-run, said Keynes, we’re all dead. This crisis, with the deaths and beatings and arrests of protesters in Iran, is pretty firmly located right now – in the short-run.
And if the goal for Obama is a better, safer future, if not for the people of Iran, then at least for the “outside world,” a.k.a. the United States of America, then this rebellion in Iran, with its courageous protesters fighting armed security forces, has plenty to do with us. For an America apparently unwilling to use military force to deter Iran’s regime from its malignant and terror-based ambitions on the global stage, this rebellion is the best chance that has come along in the 30 years since the Islamic revolution to see the Iranian regime collapse. Which could be a genuine game-changer for peace and progress in the Middle East, in a way that no amount of Obama’s speechifying and respect-offering and nuclear-haggling could possibly achieve.
For such a collapse to happen would almost certainly require that Iran’s pervasive and armed security forces flip sides, and go over to the demonstrators. That is far less likely to happen as long as major powers, especially the U.S., are busy offering or showing “respect” — to borrow one of Obama’s favorite words — to the current regime.
For Obama to refer — as he did this week – to Iranian tyrant Ali Khamenei by his own preferred title of “Supreme Leader” is to reinforce the very regime that is the source of the problem. For Obama to say, as he did on Friday and again on Saturday, that “I think ultimately the Iranian people will obtain justice,” is to address a real and immensely important crisis with words out of la-la land.
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Male, retired and the rest is of little interest to anyone. The site keeps me busy and if it helps others to stay abreast of daily events then my time is well spent.
beentheredonethat Says:
OMG, the community organizer hasn’t got a clue. The MSM should be all over him.
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 9:08 am
Cynapse Says:
I think he understands it perfectly – stick your nose in and the Iranians will blame American influence, turning the whole M.E. against the States and justifying a heavy-handed response. I doubt Bush would have done differently. And actually, he didn’t for those 8 years.
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 9:59 am
Cynapse Says:
Some of you need to differentiate between WWE and real life. Flag-waving, insults and bellowing jingoistic nonsense just gets a lot of your foreign resources or defenseless clients killed. America should have learned that lesson via the Kurds after Gulf War v1.0
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 10:16 am
beentheredonethat Says:
Who said anything about America going the route of “flag-waving, insults and bellowing jingoistic nonsense”? Besides you that is.
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Cynapse Says:
When you stick you nose in other nations’ business and spout off your “principles”, in spite of everything you actually did in the region, that is exactly how it comes across. As a starry-eyed admirer of the benevolent conquerors of the Anglosphere (anointed by God to save the world from itself), you probably wouldn’t acknowledge this site of foreign policy. Obama’s lack of desire to act as such is making you think he can’t be a real leader.
BTW Happy Father’s day to you and all the fathers out there. Not being facetious – there’s just nowhere else to write it.
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
Strange, I didn’t hear you smacking Obama down when he was (and still is) ’sticking his nose’ in Israel’s business. Double standard at play here?
Thanks for the good wishes for Father’s Day.
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
UV Says:
Didnt Bush, on many occasions unsuccesfully stick his Texas nose in Israel’s business (and anyone else’s he thought he could bully) but gave Pakistan a free-pass with their weapons of mass destruction. Double standards some would say.
Happy Fathers Day – even to grandfathers!
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Cynapse Says:
Not really, since Israel’s on the U.S. welfare dole. Hell I wish Obama would “butt out” to the tune of $7 billion / year
Posted on June 21st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
Poor little inexperienced and now proud Muslim reared B. Hussein Obama in the Oval Office as crisis after crisis pops up and he can’t simple escape responsibility by voting ‘present’ (even though in reality he’s now saying ‘president’), labelling his country arrogant or adding another trillion dollars to the deficit. Picture him as one of those kids toys that goes along until it bumps into an object then just spins around and careens off into another random direction, bump change direction, bump change direction…..until the batteries eventually wear out. That day is coming.
Posted on June 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am