OPINION/ANALYSIS:
Putting pressure on President Obama to speak out more forcefully on Iran’s presidential election fraud and subsequent deadly protests has done nothing except amplify at what lengths critics will go to work themselves up in a tizzy and that Obama actually means what he says when he says nothing at all.
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On the one hand, one can understand the thin line a president must walk when dealing with such arrogant instability (I’m talking about Iran), yet on the other, we know Obama has no spine on such matters. Strong assertions for action aside, conservatives have got to come to grips with the fact that the country got what it voted for and Obama’s passive-aggressive posture should come as no surprise. Legitimate as their arguments are, why my fellow conservatives are so hellbent on taking their outrage to such extremes would be perplexing if it weren’t obviously political.
We all knew where President Obama stood with the tyrannical Iranian government, before this dastardly turn of events took place. He told us when as candidate Obama he proclaimed that he had no problem with an unconditional meeting over tea with the Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (I’m wondering if that’s still on.) He laid it out on the table for all to see. A clear (albeit naive) strategy for how, as president, he would deal with rogue governments and the world applauded. In fact, the nation rewarded him. And now, after taking the unprecedented move to “extend a hand” to diplomats whose country suppresses (and slaughters) its own citizens by inviting them to our annual celebration of freedom and independence, we expect Obama to suddenly change his hope and change? When the Iranian government thumbs its nose at its citizenry, the West and President Obama we become shocked and outraged - demanding the president do more!
And while I admire Republican Congressman Mike Pence’s successful attempt to pass a bipartisan resolution supporting Iranian dissidents (someone had to step up) the motion is lost in a vacuum of deafening silence broken up by the cries of one Iranian protester on CNN:
“Americans, European Union, international community, this government is not definitely — is definitely not elected by the majority of Iranians. So it’s illegal. Do not recognize it. Stop trading with them. Impose much more sanctions against them. My message…to the international community, especially I’m addressing President Obama directly – how can a government that doesn’t recognize its people’s rights and represses them brutally and mercilessly have nuclear activities? This government is a huge threat to global peace. Will a wise man give a sharp dagger to an insane person? We need your help international community. Don’t leave us alone.”
If that doesn’t do it, what should bring disgrace and disdain to the president and liberals in the midst of their silence as they hold on to this nefarious notion of appeasement, is the sound of Iranian security sniper bullets piercing the hearts of innocent young people; the wails of loved ones left to clean up the blood; the moans of disenfranchised voters who ache for freedom; the whiff of arrogance displayed with the capture and arrest of foreign journalists including the recent detention of The Washington Times freelancer reporter Iason Athanasiadis.
Diplomacy be damned. Casting the rhetorical rants aside, my recommendation: At the least Mr. President, show outrage for the callous inhumanity and injustice.
-Tara Wall is a news anchor and political analyst at The Washington Times and editor of TheConservatives.com.
