Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A curious exchange from today's presser while discussing Iran:
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.
Following up on Major's question, some Republicans on Capitol Hill, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, for example, have said that up to this point your response on Iran has been timid and weak.
Today it sounded a lot stronger. It sounded like the kind of speech John McCain has been urging you to give, saying that those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history, referring to an iron fist in Iran, deplore, appalled, outraged.
Were you influenced at all by John McCain and Lindsey Graham accusing you of being timid and weak?
OBAMA: What do you think?
(LAUGHTER)
Look, the -- you know, I think John McCain has genuine passion about many of these international issues. And, you know, I think that all of us share a belief that we want justice to prevail.
But only I'm the president of the United States. And I've got responsibilities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries.
I mean, you guys must have seen the reports. They've got some of the comments that I've made being mistranslated in Iran, suggesting that I'm telling rioters to go out and riot some more. There are reports suggesting that the CIA is behind all this. All of which patently false. But it gives you a sense of the narrative that the Iranian government would love to play into.
So the -- you know, members of Congress, they've got their constitutional duties, and I'm sure they will carry them out in the way that they think is appropriate. I'm president of the United States, and I'll carry out my duties as I think are appropriate...
The bold part is interesting. When he follows it by talking about Iran, it doesn't quite seem to follow smoothly. Was he referring to Iran at first? I'm not so sure. What country do you think he really had in mind when he said, "...I've got responsibilities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries..." in response to the idea that his initial reaction had been too timid? It doesn't seem to follow that he was thinking of Iran there. There are, on the other hand, a lot of people who think standing up to Iran is really in Israel's best interest (a neo-con plot and all that), and not ours. Did that concern feed into Obama's weak initial reaction, and his somewhat confused explanation later on, as he didn't want to come right out and say that? Reading too much in, or is this just a manifestation of a new alignment...and the way in which it's already leading to American mistakes and sacrificing American moral standing?
On another point:
I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.
That's awfully passive. Is the word "murder" so difficult to work in somewhere?
I actually read this differently. I took the paragraph afterwards as an explanation that he did mean Iran.
In other words, if the U.S. firmly takes sides, it always backfires in the Middle East, because whichever side the U.S. supports always ends up losing popular support. So he doesn't want the "elected" government of Iran using anti-American sentiment to their advantage, as Hamas did in their election.
He also said this in his speech:
"This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won't work anymore in Iran. This is not about the United States or the West;"
I think that further supports my interpretation. And in fact while the whole speech was praised as being stronger, he's sticking strong to a focus of "Don't blame us for your shit".
It's also very good for Israel if he understands how this same scapegoating applies there.
So either, he's a clueless hater that's going to dump Israel the first chance he gets, or he's a savvy foreign policy player more interested in doing what works than what's popular. Time will tell.
Could be. OK, you've talked me down from the ledge. BTW, I don't think it would make him a mindless hater, but I do think there are a lot of people around him who are only too eager to provide some very bad analysis (my interpretation is not much of a stretch).
I am available on a consultancy basis.
Typical Obama - saying things that everyone could find something in them that they like.
You can not foll all the people all the time but Obama sure tries.
One day the US press will no longer love him and pressto out of no where a birth certificate will pop out and raise serious questions....