Iran & Obama

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It seems the drumbeats for President Obama to be more forceful with Iran are growing louder. Both Mitt Romney & John McCain have come out in favor of an aggressive stance concerning our relationship with the Iranian dictator. Even I on Sunday was practically screaming at the computer, wondering why Obama wasn’t saying much about the Iranian election. What I now realize is that much like Romney, McCain, & other Republicans, I would be wrong.
The fact of the matter is that Obama can’t be too forceful at this moment for a few reasons. For starters, there is an extremely good chance that despite the election being rigged, the group that runs Iran now will be the same group that’s running it a year from now. Since they’re developing nuclear weapons, we’ll more than likely have to negotiate with them. Best not to get them more riled up than they already are at the moment.
The second & more important reason is that if Obama says that he stands with the reformers, he’ll look like he’s meddling in Iranian politics & handing President Ahmadihijad a rather large propaganda tool to use against the reformers. The Iranian people may not like their leaders but they like America less. If we pick sides, at least at the moment, we will help to defeat the reform movement. As much as it pains me, it’s best to let the Iranians work it out for themselves right now & step in if things don’t go the way we want them to. It looks like so far, the tepid response is working. The supreme leader of Iran has switched positions & has now called for an investigation into the election. Also, we found out today that the State Department asked Twitter to postpone its maintenance shutdown so that the Iranian protesters could keep twittering so the US is helping the reformers, just behind the scenes.
As far as why the Republicans want a tougher response to the crisis right now, it makes perfect sense. They’re not in power so talking tough has no political downside for them. It also makes Obama look weak in the eyes of Americans like me who would like a tougher response. I don’t envy the president right now.