Every United States President has 'his time', his chance to step up and claim his mark in history. Unfortunately Barack Obama was busy rushing through new programs here at home and missed his moment in history. Here in the US: "The more radical and far-reaching the plan, the less time the public gets to debate it. Is this due to ambition or fear of push-back?" Why the Rush? Obviously Obama wants to pull the wool over on as many Americans as many times as he can before they wake up from their collective trance and see him for what he is. And across the globe brave Iranians await a word of support from the word-master himself, but he is silent.
This revolution will end either as a Tiananmen or as a true revolution that brings down the Islamic Republic.
The latter is improbable but, for the first time in 30 years, not impossible. Imagine the repercussions. It would mark a decisive blow to Islamist radicalism, of which Iran today is not just standard-bearer and model, but financier and arms supplier. It would do to Islamism what the collapse of the Soviet Union did to communism — leave it forever spent and discredited.
In the region, it would launch a second Arab spring. The first in 2005 — the expulsion of Syria from Lebanon, first elections in Iraq and early liberalization in the Gulf states and Egypt — was aborted by a fierce counterattack from the forces of repression and reaction, led and funded by Iran.
Now, with Hezbollah having lost elections in Lebanon and with Iraq establishing the institutions of a young democracy, the fall of the Islamist dictatorship in Iran would have an electric and contagious effect. The exception — Iraq and Lebanon — becomes the rule. Democracy becomes the wave. Syria becomes isolated; Hezbollah and Hamas, patronless. The entire trajectory of the region is reversed.
All hangs in the balance. The Khamenei regime is deciding whether to do a Tiananmen. And what side is the Obama administration taking? None. [snip]
And where is our president? Afraid of "meddling." Afraid to take sides between the head-breaking, women-shackling exporters of terror — and the people in the street yearning to breathe free. This from a president who fancies himself the restorer of America's moral standing in the world. (--Charles Krauthammer, Obama Can't Spare Some Change For Iran?)
What happens in the next couple days will be key moments in Iranian history.
The only nation Obamaa will ever condemn is Israel.
Posted by: Katie | June 20, 2009 at 12:05 AM
According to our friend Frank [Salvato], it's all just Chicago Politics as usual. The changes that B.Hussein O'Bama has introduced to the Windy City system is caste-based policies.
Posted by: Michael Travis | June 20, 2009 at 07:00 AM
Obama isn't interested in the freedoms the Iranian people are protesting for. He's too busy taking ours away here in America.
Posted by: Betsy | June 20, 2009 at 07:47 AM
Yes, it's just Obama being Obama. "The only nation Obama will ever condemn is Israel" Katie? Don't forget his love of condemning America. Betsy, you got that right.
Posted by: Debbie | June 20, 2009 at 01:26 PM