That Didn’t Take Too Long…

Just a few days after the American political bloggers united in condemnation of the rigged Iranian elections, American politicians have splintered along partisan lines about how best to approach the situation. The first to urge the President to directly denounce the electoral results was Rep. Mike Pence (R, IN). Some might assert that members of the House of Representatives are steeped in foreign policy, and some think that the House is full of crazy people, on both sides of the aisle. In an attempt to prove the latter group correct, the House will vote today on a resolution voicing support for the opposition in Iran.

While a noble sentiment, and one seemingly supported by the majority of Americans, allowing the American government to become immeshed in Iranian affairs at such a critical juncture can only harm the opposition. President Obama outlined this rationale while he threaded the needle of showing support without entangling himself politically on Tuesday. He elaborated in an interview with CNBC:

“. . .I think [it is] important to recognize is that the easiest way for reactionary forces inside Iran to crush reformers is to say it’s the US that is encouraging those reformers.

So what I’ve said is, ‘Look, it’s up to the Iranian people to make a decision. We are not meddling.’ And, you know, ultimately the question that the leadership in Iran has to answer is their own credibility in the eyes of the Iranian people. And when you’ve got 100,000 people who are out on the streets peacefully protesting, and they’re having to be scattered through violence and gunshots, what that tells me is the Iranian people are not convinced of the legitimacy of the election. And my hope is that the regime responds not with violence, but with a recognition that the universal principles of peaceful expression and democracy are ones that should be affirmed. Am I optimistic that that will happen? You know, I take a wait-and-see approach. Either way, it’s important for the United States to engage in the tough diplomacy around those permanent security concerns that we have–nuclear weapons, funding of terrorism. That’s not going to go away, and I think it’s important for us to make sure that we’ve reached out.

While Republicans from Pence to Sen. John McCain (R, AZ) called on President Obama to act more forcefully toward Iran, Henry Kissinger, the dean of political realism, opined that the President was acted just as he should:

KISSINGER: Well, you know, I was a McCain supporter and – but I think the president has handled this well. Anything that the United States says that puts us totally behind one of the contenders, behind Mousavi, would be a handicap for that person. And I think it’s the proper position to take that the people of Iran have to make that decision.

Of course, we have to state our fundamental convictions of freedom of speech, free elections . . . and even that is considered intolerable meddling. [Obama has] carefully stayed away from saying things that seem to support one side or the other. And I think it was the right thing to do because public support for the opposition would only be used . . . against Mousavi.

(From Think Progress)

The GOP and conservative bloggers would have the American people think that by not immediately bombing Iran, President Obama is signaling his support for Ahmadinejad. Terrible sentiment, but not surprising. Hopefully, the American attention span is just long enough to recall what happened the last time we allowed war-cheerleaders and neo-cons to dictate our foreign policy.

UPDATE

Seems that President Obama’s analysis of the role Western condemnations would play in the Iranian conflict was spot-on. While the Washington Post published op-eds by eternally enthusiastic war-mongers Paul Wolfowitz and Charles Krauthammer castigating the President for his nuanced approach to Iran, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei gave a speech illustrating Obama’s statement that “the easiest way for reactionary forces inside Iran to crush reformers is to say it’s the US that is encouraging those reformers.” Notably, neither column actually addressed this specific concern.

Today, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei gave a speech in which he warned the opposition to stay off the  streets or risk violent reprisals should the protests continue. Ratcheting up the rhetoric, Khamenei stated opposition leaders would be “responsible for bloodshed and chaos” if they did not cease demonstrating in the streets.

Khamenei insisted that voter turnout, estimated at 85 percent, proved that Ahmadinejad’s supposed victory was the national will and not fraud. The margin of victory, at 11 million votes, too large to have been rigged, Khamenei claimed.

Accusing the West of undue interference in stark terms, Khamenei criticized “media belonging to Zionists, evil media” for seeking to portray Iran as divided and accused Western power of attempting to sow seeds of revolt. Claiming the election was a contest between candidates who wholly support the regime, Khamenei railed against “enemies and dirty Zionists tried to show the election as a contest between the regime and against it.”