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Obama missteps on Iran election By Michael C. Guilmette Jr. Originally published on June 18, 2009, in the Connersville News-Examiner. Iran has been a thorn in the side of the United States for more than 30 years. It was 1979 when the oil-rich Middle Eastern nation deposed the Western-friendly Shah and declared itself an Islamic republic, dealing a crippling blow to Jimmy Carter’s presidency.
The current “president,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reflects the extremist ideology established in Iran three decades ago. Since assuming office in 2005, Ahmadinejad has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, denied the Holocaust, cracked down on dissenters and, most recently, rejected to unduly optimistic overtures from President Barack Obama. Last Friday, millions of Iranians streamed to the polls to cast their votes for either Ahmadinejad or his reformist challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Media pundits followed the election and the preceding campaign breathlessly, giving it the same level of attention normally afforded to a U.S. presidential election. Obama himself even chimed in while the vote was ongoing. “We are excited to see what appears to be a robust debate taking place in Iran,” Obama said last Friday at the White House, citing his June 4 speech at Cairo University with hopes that his olive branch extended to the Islamic world would bear fruit in Iran. Unfortunately, the president was rebuked, but it should not have been a surprise to anyone. Even before the Iranian polls closed last at 3:30 p.m. EDT last Friday, the results were already known: Ahmadinejad would continue to hold his office as Iran’s “president,” and for one simple reason — he serves at the will and pleasure of the Supreme Leader, not the Iranian people. Obama’s response to the results was tepid compared to his earlier statements, saying Tuesday he had “deep concerns” about the legitimacy of the election but stopped short of denouncing Ahmadinejad — which, in effect, serves as tacit approval. Iran’s people certainly have not approved of the results. Thousands of people have flooded the streets of Tehran protesting the election, demanding it be thrown out and conducted again. The Iranian government has responded as expected, violently cracking down on protesters, blocking media access and, according to some reports, killing as many as 20 people thus far. Ahmadinejad has dismissed the unrest as little more than “passions after a soccer match,” but the few pictures escaping Iran are disturbingly reminiscent of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre that killed as many as 2,500 people and effectively ended the reform movement in China. Whether or not the situation in Iran reaches that level remains to be seen, but if the government in Tehran does end up killing hundreds or even thousands of its citizens, nobody should be surprised, particularly President Obama. While last Friday’s election had the trappings of democracy, Iran cannot be classified as such because if lacks one critical requirement — freedom for its people. Without freedom, no election is legitimate, since giving the people their choice of tyranny is not democracy, and it certainly is not freedom. Iran’s election last Friday was a sham — a charade meant to give Ahmadinejad’s tyranny legitimacy before the rest of the world by creating the façade that he was chosen by the people. Dictators from Stalin to Saddam Hussein have employed this trick to try to maintain power, but the rest of the world usually sees it for what it is — a charade. Obama apparently did not realize the “robust debate” he spoke of was scripted, designed to fool him and the media alike. This should come as no surprise either, since the president has repeatedly championed engagement and dialogue with Iran. He has offered to talk to Iran without preconditions if they would “unclench their fist,” but he has given them no reason to do so. In fact, he is giving them more reason to stay the course. Iran backed the insurgency in Iraq to create chaos and demoralize U.S. military forces, and Obama has announced a 2010 pullout. Iran is continuing to pursue its nuclear program, and Obama has said they have the right to nuclear energy. Iran is developing long-range ballistic missiles, and Obama is cutting anti-missile defenses. Iran continues to support anti-Israeli sentiment, and Obama is now pressing Israel for Palestinian statehood. In other words, Iran is getting what it wants without having to give anything up. Therefore, it should have been no surprise Iran would not give up its control over its people — they had no reason to do so. It is time for Obama to get past his campaign rhetoric and start looking at Iran as President George W. Bush did — as part of the Axis of Evil. Until such time as Obama begins to get tough with Iran, they will only tighten their fist, and they may even decide to use them. If this happens, it could not only cost the lives of thousands of people, but it could also cost Obama his presidency. • Guilmette is managing editor of the News-Examiner. He may be contacted at mguilmette@newsexaminer.com. |
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Copyright © 2009, Michael C. Guilmette Jr. |
Under the dictatorship of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the nation’s first “Supreme Leader,” Iran descended from a Western-oriented nation to one that supports and fosters terrorism, foments anti-Americanism, threatens its neighbors and, as many intelligence experts believe, is pursuing nuclear weapons.
