Thursday, June 18, 2009
Policy on Iran
I don't usually comment on foreign policy but some have criticized Obama for keeping hands off Iran--not declaring a favorite. I understand, but I also remember in Venezuela, relatively early in the Bush administration, it looked for a few days as if Chavez would be ousted. The Bush people applauded the apparent result, and Chavez has never forgotten it. Sometimes it's right to push for change, sometimes not, and you never know for sure which is which.
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2 comments:
Doesn't it strike you as fascinating, the degree of glibness with which we speak of overthrowing democratically elected governments? I don't mean to knock anything you just said; you share these views with much of the country. But could you imagine how we would react if a regional power had tried to force a coup of our elected government? Would we "get over it?" Chavez may not align himself with our interests, but that is his right, and he was elected legitimately. As was the Iranian government in 1952; the CIA's coup of a legitimate government in Iran that year is well known. The corrupt and and unpopular one we replaced it with resulted in the 1979 Revolution. It's hard to blame them for viewing us with such suspicion. Can you imagine having our country's history being constantly written by powers from half way around the world? And after all that, the Iranians are still the most pro-american, progressive population in the region. Obama's in a tough spot, methink.
- (bulldozing in south carolina)
There are some principles involved which don't always point the same way: nationalism,self-determination, and democracy. Throw in the idea that it's hard to understand another culture--we don't do well with understanding our own. U.S. policy over the years since 1951 has been all over the map, literally.
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