Posted on 06/22/2009 9:50:38 AM PDT by MaestroLC
Demonstrations in the wake of Iran's presidential election are a sign that country's dissidents want the U.S. to get involved in the disputed contest, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) asserted Monday.
Bond, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pushed back against President Obama's claim that the election is not a U.S. issue, and urged the administration to speak out more forcefully in favor of Iranian dissidents.
"We didn't have anything to do with this uprising; we're not trying to tell them who they should select," Bond said on CNBC Monday morning. "But when they have such obvious election fraud and the violence with which they are dealing with…the way they've done it is unacceptable."
"They want us, they are appealing to us to recognize it," We need to recognize the legitimate aspirations of the American people."
Republicans have criticized the Obama administration for a perceived passivity in their response to the Iranian elections.
The president, by contrast, has emphasized the need to not be seen as meddling in the outcome of the contest
"This is an opportunity where we think — I think, personally — the president should be speaking out much more clearly on behalf of the Iranian people," Bond said.
-—”I saw a sign held by one of the protestors yesterday, asking that very question - “Where is Jimmy Carter?” “
EXCELLENT!!! These people have a great dry sense of humor.
Was it a pro-Ahmadinejad protester?
Jimmy Carter gave Iran their theocratic dictatorship!
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