Obama channels Bush on Iran

Posted By Isaac Stone Fish Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 4:09 PM Share

This is a guest post by Gabriel Max Scheinmann, a PhD student at Georgetown University and Visiting Fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.


Hallmark it ain't. Yesterday President Obama gave his annual YouTube message marking Nowruz, the Persian new year. In a tradition begun by President Bush and used as an opportunity to directly address Iran, Obama's four Nowruz greetings have symbolized the evolutions in the Administration's policy, from a realpolitik message of respect and engagement with Iranian leaders to likening the regime to the Soviet Union and identification with the aspirations of freedom of the Iranian people. As Iranian behavior has become even more belligerent, Obama's approach towards Tehran has increasingly resembled that of the Bush Administration that he so derided.

In his inaugural Nowruz message in 2009, Obama endeavored to "speak clearly to Iran's leaders," praising the "shared hopes" and "common humanity that binds us together." He called for a "new beginning" in diplomatic relations, scrubbing any mention of the Iranian nuclear program or the regime's oppression of its own citizens. He announced his administration's commitment to diplomacy and foreswore the "sticks" approach of his predecessor, affirming that the "Islamic Republic of Iran" could yet "take its rightful place in the community of nations."

A year later, Obama somewhat shifted his message. The president again validated the legitimacy of the regime, by calling on the "leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran", and again offered to engage on "the basis of mutual interests and mutual respect." He even supported Iran's leaders' "right to peaceful nuclear energy." Following the regime's repression of domestic protests after the fraudulent June 2009 presidential election, the president for the first time referenced the distressing state of civil liberties within Iran. However Obama ended his message much in the same way he had a year earlier, repeating that "our offer of comprehensive diplomatic contacts and dialogue stands."

Obama's 2011 message marked a dramatic transformation in tone and substance. It's the first time he spoke directly to the Iranian people, dropping the niceties of the "Islamic Republic of Iran." Perhaps slightly intoxicated with blooming Arab revolts, the president directly linked the uprisings in Tahrir Square to those in Tehran's Azadi Square in June 2009, a couched call for Iranians to peacefully rise up and depose their own leaders. Asserting that the Iranian regime feared its own people, he concluded with a phrase that many Americans would associate with a certain Texan: "And though times may seem dark, I want you to know that I am with you."

Just yesterday, the president underwent his starkest transformation yet. Addressing solely the Iranian people and echoing Winston Churchill, he compared Iran to the Soviet Union by declaring that "because of the actions of the Iranian regime, an electronic curtain has fallen around Iran." Obama called for a dialogue between peoples, not governments, and, for the first time, mentioned U.S. sanctions against Iranian leaders. Once again, he highlighted the Iranian people, not the regime, as "the heirs to a great and ancient civilization" and declared that the regime's responsibility to respect the rights of its people was as important as its commitments to the international community regarding its nuclear program. Although the president still offered the Iranian government a way out, Obama elevated the importance of the freedom of the Iranian people to that of the Iranian nuclear program and explicitly compared the Iranian regime to the totalitarian nature of the Soviet Union.

In three short years, Obama's Nowruz greetings, much like his Iran policy, have progressed back to those of the Bush Administration. By pledging himself to the Iranian people in their struggle against a Soviet-like regime, he borrowed President Bush's final Nowruz message: "the reformers inside Iran are brave people, they've got no better friend than George W. Bush, and I ask for God's blessings on them on their very important work."

 

TARQUINIS

4:16 PM ET

March 21, 2012

Israeli attack upon Iran is a global catastrophe

Being in an election year, and given the vast power of the AIPAC lobbies, I just hope to God that President Obama can prevent us from getting jacked into a new war with consequences most predictable and catastrophic. All the Republican candidates except for Ron Paul are crawling and abasing themselves (either truthfully or cynically) to the power of those whose primary loyalty is to Zionism. Especially since all our intelligence services still maintain that Iran discontinued efforts to actually build a bomb in 2003.

L.A Times, "U.S. DOES NOT BELIEVE IRAN IS TRYING TO BUILD A NUCLEAR BOMB", February 23, 2012:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-f...

"As U.S. and Israeli officials talk publicly about the prospect of a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, one fact is often overlooked: U.S. intelligence agencies don't believe Iran is actively trying to build an atomic bomb. A highly classified U.S. intelligence assessment circulated to policymakers early last year largely affirms that view, originally made in 2007".

"Both reports, known as national intelligence estimates, conclude that Tehran halted efforts to develop and build a nuclear warhead in 2003. The most recent report, which represents the consensus of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, indicates that Iran is pursuing research that could put it in a position to build a weapon, but that it has not sought to do so. Although Iran continues to enrich uranium at low levels, U.S. officials say they have not seen evidence that has caused them to significantly revise that judgment. Senior U.S. officials say Israel does not dispute the basic intelligence or analysis..."

A war initiated by Israel would spread to our interests in about half an hour. Iran would certainly hit back to the best their abilities. Prices for petroleum would certainly skyrocket to who knows what level, collapsing our fragile economy like a house of cards. Same for the whole world's economy for the same reasons. Mass chaos from Lebanon to Pakistan. Things quickly spiral out of control. Afghanistan explodes. Al-Qaeda claps its hands in glee in Yemen and Somalia. China and Russia get quite hostile. Radioactive clouds drift eastward over India. And of course in this event, Iran would conclude that it must quickly obtain a nuclear WMD capability. Achieving exactly what you claim you want to avoid.

The interests of America are for a peaceful resolution of this conflict, one in compliance with the terms of the NPT. An Israeli attack would slam the whole world into what? Choose your own apocalyptic metaphors.

Zionism (a political philosophy having little to do with Judaism) is racism and unending war. Love it, or leave it. Decide while time remains.

 

RBFLAW

5:01 PM ET

March 21, 2012

iran

It is interesting to see the President's progression on this subject. Gabe's post raises a few questions. If there is an electronic iron curtain around Iran, how is the President's message getting to the Iranian people. Also, Gabe fails to mention that the holiday of Purim celebrates the near extinction of the Jewish people there by the King. Lots of people glorify the Persian past. I do not. And I am not sure that I am willing to let the Iranian people have a free ride now either. No more than the German people. Hitler did not commit the Holocaust by himself. Thousand participated. And many thousands more kept it quiet. And the country sat by a let it happen. And he was, after all, elected with a clear message, Mein Kampf, fully public. Sorry, there are parallels in Iran today. They have elections. They share a common religion and allegiance to a common leader. I dont see anyone protesting the idea of destroying Israel. And let's not forget that they are not Arabs. They have no skin in the Palestinian issue. Their real causes are gaining power in the middle east by leading the fight against a common villified enemy and hatred of Jews for its own sake. Before people glorify the Persian culture, they need to remember these facts. Accomplishments in the arts and sciences and business are nullified by a culture of hate and killing and menacing politics.

 

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