While every other news outlet in the nation is oohing and ahhing over Barack Obama’s appearance on The Tonight Show last night, we’re choosing instead to focus on another video – the one in which he joins the people of Iran in celebrating Norwuz, the Iranian New Year.
That’s all well and good, we suppose, but Obama did a little more than just celebrate this “ancient ritual and moment of renewal,” he offered to wipe the slate clean and embark on a “new beginning” with Iran, a nation that pretty much hates America’s guts and wants to see us all dead.
Hmmm … combined with our diminished military strength and rapidly accumulating foreign debt, what could possibly go wrong?
Since we never thought there would ever be a presidential administration that was more liberal than the fictitious Bartlett Administration in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, it occurred to us that Obama might benefit from hearing what the former standard bearers of liberalism in America might say about his little speech …
By Chris March 20, 2009 at 8:53 am
I seriously doubt that everyone in that country “hates our guts.” Take an hour and watch that hippy Rick Steves travel throughout Iran and talk to people of all shapes and sizes. Not a single one of them beheaded him – if you can believe that!
“hates our guts?” The last time I heard that was like, third grade.
By Sgt. Rick Hunter March 20, 2009 at 10:19 am
@ Chris,
Do you form all your perspectives on foreign relations from travel TV shows? It’s probably a good idea to ignore the fact that the people who run the country and control the media think that Israel and anyone who defends it should be wiped from the map.
By Mike March 20, 2009 at 10:21 am
Irrespective of the relative maturity of the phrase “hates our guts,” it’s a pretty accurate (if visceral) description of the feelings most Iranians have for most Americans. Iranian Islamo-fascists (or they’re Iranian-trained terrorist counterparts elsewhere) generally don’t behead guys being followed by large entourages and camera crews. They do their own camera work during beheadings, usually with a digital camcorder in a basement somewhere.
I’ve traveled extensively throughout the Mideast and Muslim SW Asia including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Israel, Gaza, and Egypt (not in the military). I can assure you the sentiments expressed by that phrase are accurate for reasons way too complex for this format, but including the social aspects of Islamic religion in the region and the nuances of the social psychology of collective violence. I would suggest anyone interested in genuinely understanding what the worldwide Salafi jihad is all about (including why they “hate our guts”) read Marc Sageman’s “Understanding Terror Networks.” He’s a University of Pennsylvania professor of psychiatry and ethnopolitical conflict, and the book is a great, non-ideological treatment of the phenomenon.
Trust me on this; they hate our guts.
By Pirate Saint March 20, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I don’t believe most Iranians hate us. They are understandably suspicious of our motives. Given that our CIA had a role in overturning a democratic election of theirs during the Eisenhower Adminisration, that shouldn’t be surprising. That may seem like ancient history to you, but it’s not to them.
Ahmadinejad was elected not on religious motives but because he promised to fix the economy. His economic plans have been an abysmal failure. He’s going to lose his election unless either the reformists split their vote or America somehow gets in the way.
The worst thing we can do right now is rattle sabers at him; it makes him appear more powerful, and it makes even Iranians who don’t like him rally around the flag (like American Democrats right after 9/11).
The second worst thing we can do is appear to be giving in to them, which will make Ahmadinejad take credit for making America back up. That is the potential danger of Obama’s tape; Ahmadinejad will use it to show his strategy is working. Hopefully, a lot of Iranians won’t buy it.
It may be best to simply ignore Ahmadinejad until the June election, than deal with whomever wins (it’s unlikely to be him). But Obama apparently doesn’t want to do that. He seems to feel it’s not enough to simply ignore Ahmadinejad. I think Obama is taking the opportunity of the Iranian New Year to dial down tensions with the Iranian people, so they don’t go into the voting booth in June voting on national security issues (in which case they might vote for Ahmadinejad). If we dial down tensions for a little while, they’ll go into the voting booth concerned more about the economy. And if they vote based on the economy, Ahmadinejad is finished.
I’m no Obama fan, not by a longshot. He may not be doing exactly what I’d do, and there’s some risk in it. But I don’t think it’s crazy.
By Pat Hendrix March 20, 2009 at 2:55 pm
The Mullahs have been in power for 30 years. What are they waiting on? If they want a fight the United States or Israel, they can have it today. Don’t hold your breath.
Face it, despite all the hysteria of “Shiite death cults,” the facts don’t suggest the Iranians are going “wipe Israel from the map.” No, they didn’t have to exercise military power; they were the primary beneficiaries of the Iraq war, expanding their power and influence beyond what anyone dreamed eight years ago. Aside from Israel, they are the strongest power in the Near/Middle East. It’s time to start dealing with it.
By Rollover Obama March 20, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Nothing like sending Ahmadinejad a video exposing our soft underbelly to him.
By Mike March 20, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Iran’s influence peddling in the region well-predates the US invasion of Iraq, although my only initial point was that a majority of Iranians despise the US (both politically and personally). There is a small (but growing) demographic in Iran of young, somewhat Westernized folks who are curious about Americans and somewhat open to our culture. They are a small minority, though.
At the governmental level, no serious person doubts that both the mullahs and Ahmadinejad are militantly anti-American, anti-democracy, and anti-Israel/anti-Semitic. “Kissing up” too much to such a regime is fraught with peril and the potential for the old problem of unintended consequences. We don’t have to poke them in the eye every week, but we shouldn’t be blowing them kisses, either. I definitely agree that, if properly managed on the diplomatic front, the Ahmadinejad piece of this puzzle will most likely not be a factor after June. He is not, however, the “last kook standing” within Iran’s political infrastructure and he has the absolute and unquestioned support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as would any similarly “conservative” successor. If a reform candidate pulls out a victory (which is possible), things would get interesting, but would not change as dramatically as most think.
By Nigel March 22, 2009 at 12:52 am
If the Iranian people/government hate the USA so much, why do so many Iranians come to the USA and obtain graduate degrees here? Most return to Iran and take up very good positions there, however, many stay on and work in the USA. There are a number of Iranians who are on the faculty in engineering depts at many universities in the USA.
By Razi March 22, 2009 at 2:33 am
If I call you a terrorist (while you are not), then would want to talk nice to me? (an Iranian)