Is Obama's rhetorical support of the Iranian people enough? Poll

Youpolls ^ | 12-28-2009 | Fox News

[DBlake]

President Obama offered rhetorical support Monday to anti-government protesters...

[sionnsar]

ping

[sionnsar]

You

Poll

Is Obama's rhetorical support of the Iranian people enough?

Yes

0%

No

100%

You voted: No

[Izzy Dunne]

What would be “enough” in your opinion?

[AliVeritas]

Problem: They don’t have a hell no option.

[mowowie]

I keep seeing these youpoll threads.

Is this a legit site or are we the only people exposed to it?

[sionnsar]

What would be “enough” in your opinion?

You know, Izzy Dunne, I was tempted to ignore your question, but it's really quite fair.

And I do not have an answer that contains any useful metric other than:

Whatever it takes for the Iranian people to be freed from tyranny (this one, and any other that seeks to replace it) and to enjoy the kind of freedom we Americans enjoy -- whether it is through a democratic republic or some other form of government. (Well, actually, I wish them better than what we have today but don't get me started.)

From what I am told, by Iranians and those who know them, it seems evident to me that the American system might not work well there. Perhaps the Israeli system would work better.

But how to get there? There are many facets to this, but I am told that federal funding for many, if not all, has been drying up. This needs to change; whatever we do, America needs to provide hope for these people and be ready to back that hope up with action if necessary. [And how many times have we failed at that? We need a new track record!]

BUT... any revolution needs to be Iranian at its core. The French supported the American Revolution, but it was support -- they did not run it. And IMHO that is what we should do for the people of Iran.

Everything I have seen for years, on FR and elsewhere, says that if America were to provide this support, we would have no greater friend in the world than Iran (except maybe Israel -- and yes, I know about the Liberty). The Iranians already love Americans; there have been many threads on FR over the years that show this.

When Bush sent support to the people of Bam, Iran, in December 2003 following the catastrophic earthquake there, the reaction was typified by this photo. An Iranian man is distributing roses to the American rescuers. Roses, I am told, are very special to Iranians. My wife (who once lived in Iran and who speaks Farsi) burst into tears when she saw that picture, and then explained what it meant. From an Iranian perspective. He's no "fairy" -- he is honoring them.

So, Izzy Dunne, I don't have a very "useful" answer to your question, in terms of what we should plan to do completely up front, not knowing the fine details of the ground ahead, but I do have an answer of what we should be striving toward.

And what Obama offered is a LONG ways from "enough."

[Izzy Dunne]

Thanks for your reasoned answer to the question.

There's a lot of talk around FR concerning the building of a glass parking lot in Iran.

Such talk might express frustration, and certainly such action does nothing toward a better country there. As you say, the Iranian people generally have good feelings about the American people.

The key point in what you say is that any revolution needs to be Iranian at its core.

There is no way we (or anybody) can impose that from outside. What we CAN do is offer CONSISTENCY of rhetorical support, and so far, O'bama has failed, although this statement is a small step.

The French analogy is apt; we should offer support only insofar as the Iranian people themselves are willing to lead the struggle. If we lead the struggle, then it becomes another outsider interfering in their affairs and we simply live up toe the "Great Satan" image.

Of course, it's very different from the American Revolution; King George was not in New York, but in London.

What's needed is the sense, among the Iranian people, that they CAN change their fate, that they CAN and SHOULD change their government. If they have such a belief, then nothing can stop them. If they don't, then nothing we do can help them.

So how do we instill that belief? We cannot create it out of nothing, but we can state it, support it, and talk about it at every opportunity. Not just at crisis times, but all the time.

And that's what O'bama seems to fail at - consistency.

[sionnsar]

There's a lot of talk around FR concerning the building of a glass parking lot in Iran.

Izzy Dunne, I will not tell you how much such talk pains me (and all I have personally seen of Iran is Tehran at night as I flew over it on my way to Bangalore). Most of the time I just let the comments go, despite knowing what would be lost in the "construction of glass parking lots."

What's needed is the sense, among the Iranian people, that they CAN change their fate, that they CAN and SHOULD change their government.

Agreed, 100%. And that America could be counted on for support, in the way France supported us.

But from Obama's America I can say is: "Some of us Americans are completely with you, but don't trust our government."

(Yikes. Did I say that last?)

[clintonh8r]

Did he promise to buy them a car and pay the mortgage?

[RoadTest]

I think you answer is excellent!

[RoadTest]

Yes, English is my first language.

[LibreOuMort]

I was “pinged” to this thread and thought I’d better weigh in before it was pulled. I am sionnsar’s wife of 30 years and I am responsible for introducing him to Persia and her people. My experience of life in (1970’s)Iran gives me what I think is a unique perspective here on FreeRepublic.

I don’t often wade into internet “conversations” because I don’t like the way some people attack others’ expression of opinion in these fora. My own experience on FreeRepublic has been very mixed - more to the negative than positive. So, I usually refrain from comment. However, this issue is close to my heart and I believe it is incumbent upon me to address it. Here goes:

I believe that Obama’s “pro forma” comment on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s recent stepped up attacks in response to the people’s Ashoora Day protests is inadequate at best - criminally indifferent at worst. The people of Iran have expressed their desire to throw off their oppressors and all the USA (represented by Obama and his mouth pieces) can do is act as though nothing of any significance is happening over there. No comment, or late comment without substance is tantamount to acquiescence or agreement with the status quo. In other words, Obama’s “comments” represent complicity with the Islamic régime’s actions against the Iranian people.

I have been looking for some sign that Obama has received the myriad messages we have sent to him regarding this situation and what we are looking for in his leadership as President of the United States. All our efforts to bring the “reality” in Iran to his attention and to the attention of our Senators and Congressional representatives it seems have fallen on deaf ears. We have a serious “disconnect” here in the USA between “We The People” and those who were elected to represent us and carry out our wishes. So far there has been no REAL effort on the part of THIS government to openly and unmistakably express support for the actions of the Iranian people to bring an end to the abusive Islamic Rule under which they are suffering and to elect the government they desire.

I am very disappointed.

The People of Iran are speaking with their lives in the streets and it seems nobody is hearing their cries. I am grieved beyond words..... I hope the White House is monitoring this tread. I would like to talk with the President in person about this. Perhaps then something might change.

[Izzy Dunne]

Thank you for your insights, and for coming out of your shell to post them.

For the record, I, too believe that the U.S. response to Iran is shamefully small. I believe Obama believes in ignoring things to make them go away. Avoid making a decision, avoid any strong statements, avoid planting a flag and sticking to it.

That's how you organize a community, I suppose: you get THEM to talking about THEIR problems, and THEIR solutions and help THEM to do what THEY want, and when it's all said and done, you didn't do much.

The poll has a built-in vagueness: "enough" for what?
"Enough" to make the Iran regime topple? Well, no.
"Enough" to make the regime think we mean it? No.
"Enough" to make them think we've noticed? Yes (but so what?).

Sadly, my guess is that Obama thinks that he has "handled" the issue, and will now resume plundering the Treasury and speak not another word about it until something else happens.

Sadly, there's a certain percentage that even the glass parking lot won't satisfy. The anger is probably fueled by the TV images of protestors shouting "Death to America" and such.

I have come to believe that that image was cultivated by the regime(s) of the past and is not as widespread as it appears. My sympathy has correspondingly grown for the Iranian people.

I would like to talk with the President in person about this. Perhaps then something might change.

I admire your courage. I wish I could share your faith.

[FARS]

When Oba-Hussein, America’s Khomeini, refuses to listen to “we the people” about our lives and clear desires on so many major things near and dear to us, WHY would he bother to listen to the Iranian PEOPLE?

They are not going to send him tons of money as political contributions.

They are not going to muster and herd ex-patriot American-Iranians into voting booths for him - as they did last year.

They are not going to pay off overseas Persian radio, TV and print press to promote Oba-Hussein worldwide.

If they the people take over it will only create a vast array of political problems he does not want nor is able to handle.

If they take over, they will remember how this American Khomeini ignored the blood they spilled and will not forgive him and make nice to his administration.Even if he changes and flip-flops.

So why would this narcissist bother? He gains nothing by supporting the people and buys trouble, none f which feed his narcissism, where unless there is clear PERSONAL benefit, it is not worth doing.

Already the Speaker of Parliament in Iran has critized Oba-Hussein for even the wishy-washy comments he made and warned him to think twice.

As long as Oba-Hussein runs America (yes, he runs America with a bunch of outside legal status Czars and an arse licking, corrupt Senate and Congress) Iranians will die without any help from teh USA.

FINALLY, Oba-Hussein is a Marxist trained Moslem (as were so many Iranian Ayatollahs, who attended Lumumba University in MOscow) with a beleif that the government SHOULD run things as it sees fit and NOT listen to the people. He the mesiah knows best and feels an affinity to the Mullah regime along those lines.

Meets his own stgandards and mentality,which he is already imposing on us here.

[null and void]

Gentlemen.

That is precisely the sort of interchange that makes FR a rare treasure on the internet.

Thank you.

[null and void]

Off topic ping to an excellent thread.

[PhilDragoo]

[thecodont]

Beautiful picture and explanation of it. Thank you for sharing it.

[Izzy Dunne]

So, the question remains: what DO we do? what exactly IS "enough"?

I am certainly tired of spending American blood and treasure to liberate those who seemingly don't want it - is this one of those cases? Part of me wants to just shut the door and take a rest - let the rest of the world sort out their own problems.

I'm afraid I don't know enough about Iran to know how close the government and the people really are. I see lots of hatred and vituperation from the government, but I see a different picture occasionally. You mentioned the Bam 2003 earthquake relief and the reaction to it - that's one example.

I don't watch TV, so my sense may be skewed, but we (U.S. public) don't see anything but a superficial examination of anything. And that's the fault of our citizenry as much as anything else - we don't demand it much, and what we do get is fleeting. (But we're all over the latest Tiger Woods / Michael Jackson / Trig Palin tidbit).

The first thing we have to do is to feel like a country again. It's debatable whether acting like one leads to feeling like one, or the other way round, but it's got to happen before we can credibly influence anything anywhere else. Oh sure, we can throw money at it (for a while) or throw troops at it (for a while) but unless it comes from a country that believes in itself, it's not worth as much as it might be.

Rhetorically, we could do a lot more. Instead of spending all this bloviation about health care and CO2 and manufactured crisis-of-the-month stuff, there should be somebody, somewhere, talking about Iran and what's going on today, and where the situation stands. Whether a protest occurred today or not.

Still, the question remains, what DO we do? what exactly IS "enough"?