Considering all the action the UN — action being nothing but UN sanctions and letters saying to stop, pretty please — has taken against Iran, shouldn’t this have been taken care of already? Shockingly, it looks like the all-talk-no-action approach is failing.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the “global arrogance” on this year’s anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
“The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism,” Ahmadinejad said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
“If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles,” he added.
Ahmadinejad said that in the three decades of its history, the Islamic Revolution had inspired some great developments in the world.
Can’t say that I’m too surprised, really. France has been tougher on Iran than we have been. Ahmadinejad has been testing us and testing the world, and what have we showed him? We’ve showed him that we’ll negotiate and issue UN sanctions (that won’t be enforced) and send “stern letters” asking him to stop. Under the Obama administration, Iran has become bolder and bolder. They’ve become a bigger threat than ever. So what will Obama’s reaction to this new threat from Ahmadinejad be? Ask him to come to the US for a beer summit so they can work out their differences?
Obama has no understanding of the gravity of this situation, yet he’s our Commander in Chief. He holds the security of our nation in his hands. And when we are getting threatened by Iran over and over and over again, his response has been to basically do nothing each time. He’s got no courage whatsoever, and while Iran might not make us first on their list of countries to attack (I believe that would be Israel), they will attack somewhere and people will be killed that didn’t need to die. It might not necessarily happen on February 11th, but if Obama doesn’t start taking Ahmadinejad seriously and dealing with the situation now, then we’re going to have much bigger problems from Iran than stolen elections.
Cross-posted at Hot Air.
(6 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
Loading ...Considering that France has been acting tougher on Iran than we have been, it’s not a big surprise that Iran hasn’t been taking Obama too seriously. Obama’s plan thus far has been to whine to Ahmadinejad and to ask him to stop (pretty please with a cherry on top??). So while Obama seems set on negotiating over and over again, Iran continues to get bolder and more insulting.
They didn’t flat-out refuse Obama’s deal, but they might as well have. Could it be because Ahmadinejad has no respect for Obama?
Iran’s response Thursday to a proposed deal to transform its controversial nuclear material into fuel for a medical reactor is “inadequate,” a senior Western diplomat said, adding that it failed to address key United States and European concerns about Iran’s nuclear intentions.
Iran answered the proposal to temporarily move most of its enriched uranium to Russia and France to be further refined and shaped for use in a medical reactor after a delay of nearly a week and a flurry of contradictory signals.
The proposal would have depleted Iran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel below the threshold necessary for making a single nuclear bomb, possibly creating diplomatic breathing room for a broader agreement between Tehran and those worried about its atomic research program.
But according to the diplomat, Iran wants to send its uranium abroad in smaller batches over an undetermined stretch of time rather than the lump transfer by year’s end outlined under the proposal offered by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
Such a change would allow Iran to quickly replenish its stock.
Gee, I wonder why Iran wants to send its uranium in smaller batches then. Could it be because they have absolutely no intention of abandoning their nuclear program? While Ahmadinejad is shouting his cooperation from the rooftops for anyone to hear, it’s just an empty statement. His actions say something completely different, and it’s clear that he has no respect at all for Obama or the UN.
Of course, we were promised that the world would love us once again if we elected Obama. Obama would usher in “smart diplomacy” and he would be able to negotiate with terrorists other world leaders and everyone would be happy again. And this is our newer, smarter diplomacy? Iran and North Korea are both getting bolder and bolder, launching more and more test missiles, and getting further and further into nuclear weapons programs. Obama’s response is to launch a plan to remove our missile defense shields in eastern Europe and do nothing except ask Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Il to please stop. He talks a big game, but doing absolutely nothing to back up what he says. Why should Iran respect or fear him?
Theodore Roosevelt believed in speaking softly and carrying a big stick. With Obama, it’s speak loudly and carry a limp stick.
Hat Tip: Hot Air
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...You know we’ve crossed the line into truly pussified territory once France is tougher on another country than we are. This is nothing against Nicolas Sarkozy, a far better leader than Jacques Chirac could ever dream of being, but still… it’s France.
Under President Nicolas Sarkozy, France has adopted an increasingly hard-edged approach to Iran, often out ahead of the Obama administration with uncompromising language criticizing Iranian leaders and warning that their nuclear program threatens world peace.
The French attitude reflects Sarkozy’s assessment that acquiescing to unsupervised nuclear development by Tehran would be perilous, risking an Israeli attack on Iranian installations and increasing instability in the Middle East. In addition, French analysts said, Sarkozy feels that Europe got nowhere with Iran in several years of what was called “constructive dialogue” and that it is time to move on to stronger measures in tandem with Washington.
… The tough new French approach marks a clear change from the days of Presidents Jacques Chirac and George W. Bush, when France was often a reluctant U.S. ally compared with Britain and Germany. In contrast, Sarkozy in recent weeks has used a sharper tone than have British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — and President Obama — in denouncing Iran’s nuclear program and advocating sanctions to force Tehran to allow inspectors in.
Sarkozy’s fundamental position — seek dialogue but impose stronger sanctions unless Iran opens its nuclear program to international inspection — dovetails neatly with the stances of Obama and other major U.S. allies, Heisbourg and French officials said. But his recent public comments have suggested impatience with Obama’s extended-hand policy and a conviction that the time has come to deal firmly with Tehran’s nuclear program.
Under the Obama administration, Iran has become bolder and more dangerous. There was the rigged election leading to protestors fighting — and being murdered — for their freedom. Iran has even test-fired nuclear-capable missiles in the face of — gasp! — threats of sanctions from the west. Ahmedinejad is still denying that the Holocaust has ever happened and he still wants to wipe Israel off the map.
Yet Obama still is willing to meet with Ahmedinejad with no preconditions. He’s willing to let the Iranian foreign minister, Manoucher Mottaki, visit the capital even though they’ve been blocked from the capital for thirty years. Every time Iran has shown that they’re a dangerous threat (and definitely not a tiny, insignificant country) Obama has done nothing more than send them the equivalent of a strongly worded letter saying to stop… please?? Obama’s foreign policy is not only a horrific failure at accomplishing anything, it’s also embarassing. We may have the strongest and best fighting for in the world, but all the same… what does it tell you when France has found more backbone than we have?
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Yesterday we found out that Obama is going to be removing our missile defense shields in eastern Europe, with a rather confusing message about Iran. Apparently, they’re a serious threat, but we need to get rid of the missile defense shields because they piss Russia off, and Russia is going to help calm down Iran, even though Russia is against further sanctions against Iran.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense…
Anyway, while Obama is blithely ignoring Iran and being far too trusting towards Russia, Iran continues to burn. The stolen election earlier this year, in which Ahmedinejad was made president, has had disastrous consequences. And while it’s been easy to forget about Iran, the situation there is still volatile. The opposition is still fighting — and still dying — and hardliners even attacked former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who was protesting alongside Mousavi supporters.
Supporters of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi fought running battles with riot police and hardliners on the streets of Tehran today as tens of thousands joined the first protests against President Ahmadinejad for two months.
The demonstrators defied warnings of a “decisive” crackdown from the elite Revolutionary Guard to mount the protest during the annual al-Quds rally, a mass display of solidarity with the Palestinians that is one of the set pieces of the Islamic regime.
Mr Mousavi himself was forced to abandon his own plans to join in the rally after an angry mob shouting “Death to the hypocrite Mousavi” attacked his car.
Another leading reformist, the former president Mohammad Khatami, was also roughed up on the streets of Tehran and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground.
… Riot police, armed with batons, beat protesters who were pelting them with stones in the central Haft-e Tir Square. They also fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators who chanted: “Torture and rape are not effective any more.”
The demonstrators were referring to opposition allegations of abuses against some of the more than 4,000 activists and reformist politicians detained during the post-election disturbances.
The Times has been given access to more than 500 pages of documentary evidence suggesting that the regime is using systematic killing and torture to try to break the opposition’s resolve since the June 12 vote.
I don’t doubt it. These people were fighting for their freedom, and they continue to. When they tried to peacefully protest a rigged election, they were met with violence, torture, arrests, and murder by Ahmedinejad’s regime. It wasn’t too long ago that Iran completely erupted into chaos. In June, another former Iranian president, Rafsanjani, saw his family arrested because he dared side with the opposition. Police used brutal force against protestors, such as tear gas and burning agents. Injured Iranians were met at hospitals by police, where they would be arrested and likely tortured. Iranians against Ahmedinejad couldn’t use the internet, because internet usage was being used to track down the protestors and arrest or kill them. The Basij was breaking into people’s homes and committing horrendous home invasions. And people like poor Neda were being shot in the street, simply for being at a protest.
And the situation has not settled. Try as they might, the Revolutionary Guard has not been able to break the spirits of the freedom fighters. Despite everything they’ve lost, and everything they’re risking, they haven’t given up. I hope they don’t. I hope they keep fighting. Honestly, my heart just breaks for these people. Our country, the strongest in the world, will not help them. And if we don’t, who will? They won’t be able to overturn Ahmedinejad’s regime on their own. But, God bless them, they keep fighting, no matter how hopeless it seems. It makes me so proud, and yet extremely sad at the same time. They’re begging us to save them, and Obama just looks the other way. I wish we didn’t have such a spineless coward for a president who will do nothing to help these people who are literally risking their lives simply to be free, something we take so for granted here in the United States.
Clearly, Obama still hasn’t learned Just last month, Robert Gibbs was still outrageously claiming that Ahmedinejad was the elected leader of Iran. Now, he’s leaving the future of Iran up to Russia? Does he honestly think that problems will just work themselves out if he ignores them long enough? It’s the most ludicrous example of leadership I’ve ever seen. Iran continues to be a tinderbox, and Ahmedinejad is crazy as ever. Yet Obama’s going to remove our missile defense shields and look the other way?
Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...There’s a rumor floating around that Obama has planned to cancel our missile defense shields in eastern Europe. Liberals like to claim that Bush ruined America’s image overseas, but one place that he did remarkably well diplomatically was eastern Europe. And now, Barack Obama is going to throw that all away and get nothing. Smart diplomacy, indeed.
Scuttling a missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland helps smooth relations between the U.S. and Russia. But at what price?
Some of America’s staunchest allies are the East Europeans — and on Thursday, they expressed dismay at what many see as a slight after decades of their support for the U.S.
Among them were some famous names, including Lech Walesa, the former Solidarity leader and Polish ex-president. “I can see what kind of policy the Obama administration is pursuing toward this part of Europe,” he said ruefully, adding: “The way we are being approached needs to change.”
For most of the past decade, cozy relations with Washington were practically a given across the “new Europe.” George W. Bush famously courted the region after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and leaned on it for troops to fight alongside U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Barack Obama took office undecided about Bush’s plan to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and sophisticated radar in the Czech Republic — a system designed to shoot down long-range missiles that might be fired from Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East. Building had not started in either country.
The Czech installation was planned for the Brdy military installation 55 miles (90 kilometers) southwest of Prague. The Polish site was to be at a former military air base near the town of Redzikowo, about 115 miles from Russia’s westernmost edge.
Obama has been reaching out to Russia, which had expressed outrage at the notion of missiles being pointed in its direction from a region that was firmly in the Soviet orbit just 20 years ago.
On Thursday, Obama announced he was shifting the plan from Eastern Europe to other locations. He and other administration officials said they have concluded that Iran’s medium- and short-range missiles pose a greater threat and require more flexible technology.
Obama’s decision got a positive reception in Russia, hailed by President Dmitry Medvedev as a “responsible move.”
… Former Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose government signed treaties with the Bush administration to build the radar system — and took a lot of heat from Czechs who feared it would make their country a terrorist target — went on Czech radio to vent his frustrations.
“The Americans are not interested in this territory as they were before,” he said. “It’s bad news for the Czech Republic.”
… Poland’s prime minister held out hope his country might play a role in the revamped U.S. defense.
“There is a chance for strengthening Europe’s security with special attention given to Poland,” Donald Tusk told reporters, adding: “I would not describe what is going on today as a defeat for Poland.”
But a prominent Czech legislator suggested the rebuff would have consequences should Washington ask for troops — or anything else.
“If the administration approaches us in the future with any request, I would be strongly against it,” said Jan Vidim, a lawmaker with the conservative Civic Democratic Party, which had supported the missile defense plan.
… [S]crapping missile defense comes as a huge setback to many Polish and Czech leaders, who viewed it as a way to strengthen military ties with the U.S. in a form of defense against a resurgent Russia.
Fears of Moscow run especially deep in Poland, highlighted by a key anniversary Thursday. Exactly 70 years ago — on Sept. 17, 1939 — Poland was invaded by the Soviet Union at the start of World War II.
Aleksander Szczyglo, head of Poland’s National Security Office, characterized the change as a “defeat primarily of American long-distance thinking about the situation in this part of Europe.”
“It’s quite unfair,” said Petr Boubin, 36, who owns a cafe in the Czech capital. “I think Obama is making too many concessions to Russia.”
But now Iran suddenly poses a greater threat, Obama says. It’s not what he said on the campaign trail, when he dismissed Iran as a tiny, insignificant country. When it came to the Iranian election drama, he could barely even get the courage to “vote present”. And remember this, from last year? This was when he was still campaigning, and said that Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela pose no serious threats, especially compared to the Soviet Union!
But now, suddenly, Russia’s not a serious threat and Iran is. Unfortunately for Obama, he forgot to clear his message with his vice president, who’s still echoing the same “tiny insignificant threat” mantra that Obama was bleating on the campaign trail.
The Obama administration will scrap the controversial missile defense shield program in Eastern Europe, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.
The comment followed similar statements from officials in Poland and the Czech Republic — where key elements of the system were to be located — but was the first confirmation from an American official.
Vice President Joe Biden earlier refused to confirm to CNN that the George W. Bush-era plan was being shelved.
But he did explain the logic of doing so, saying Iran — a key concern for the United States — was not a threat.
“I think we are fully capable and secure dealing with any present or future potential Iranian threat,” he told CNN’s Chris Lawrence in Baghdad, where he is on a brief trip.
“The whole purpose of this exercise we are undertaking is to diminish the prospect of the Iranians destabilizing that region in the world. I am less concerned — much less concerned — about the Iranian potential. They have no potential at this moment, they have no capacity to launch a missile at the United States of America,” he said.
Obama may be saying something different than Biden, but his actions are saying that he agrees with Biden 100%. Right, there’s no Iranian threat at all, and if there is, Russia will surely protect us, right?
Uh, wrong.
Imposing swift additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme would be a “serious mistake,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
“Today there is a real chance to conclude talks whose results should be an agreement restoring trust in the purely peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” Lavrov said in televised remarks.
“Disrupting this chance by demanding swift imposition of sanctions would be a serious mistake,” he added.
Perhaps one of these days Obama and Biden will finally decide what their message on Iran is and they’ll get it straight.
For anyone who doesn’t understand the timing of the announcement, today is September 17 — the 70 year anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland. And this is the day that Obama chose to throw Poland under the bus in favor of Russia? Yes, I’m sure it’s just coincidence.
And as John Hawkins points out, Poland was only one of our staunchest allies in the Iraq invasion. While we had many countries supporting us, only three actually went in to the push with us: Britain, Australia, and Poland. And Obama insults them, today of all days. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is just sitting there laughing his ass off, leading Obama around like some dumb puppy dog begging for a treat. We’ve got a brand new Hitler and Chamberlain in that pair, don’t we?
For what it’s worth, Obama is dead wrong about Iran, too. Iran is very to being a real nuclear threat, whether Obama and Biden want to admit it or not. Yet Obama is making the United States less safe from Iran, alienating the alliances in eastern Europe that we’ve worked so hard to build, and cozying up to Russia, all in one stroke.
Is this the “smart” diplomacy all of you Obama voters really wanted?
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Watch this video, where Robert Gibbs outrageously says that Ahmedinejad is the legitimate elected leader in Iran:
He also calls the violence and bloodshed against protesting Iranians a “debate”. No, Mr. Gibbs, it is NOT a debate. Iranian patriots are protesting because the government there rigged the election and they know it. They want freedom, and they want to be able to elect their own leaders. And in response to that, the government is murdering them. That is NOT a “debate”.
What a sorry S.O.B. Robert Gibbs is.
Hat Tip: Hot Air
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Barack Obama has suddenly realized how valuable our missile defense systems are.
Or has he?
During the campaign last year, Obama repeatedly said that he would make missile defense cuts because our missile shields were “untested” and “unproven”. And it appears he’s keeping that promise, because he has plans to cut $1.2 billion from our missile defense next year, as well as providing no new funds to our missile shields in Europe. Last year, President Bush, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Condoleezza Rice had agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic to base interceptors and radar there, but Obama is backtracking. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn admits that there are no plans to move forward with the European missile shield at the moment. We’re already making massive defense cuts as it is, with $900 million being slashed from Homeland Security, the production of F-22 fighter jets being halted, and benefits for families of fallen police and safety officers being halved. Spending everywhere else is skyrocketing, but the one area of government where we can’t afford to be stingy is getting ripped off.
This might not ordinarily be a pressing issue, but the timing couldn’t be worse. Iran and North Korea have both gone rogue, with both countries defying U.N. Sanctions with nuclear missile testing. Last month, Iran tested a long-range missile. North Korea has tested several, one of which allegedly is comparable to the nuclear weapons that obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Worst of all, North Korea has made a threat to shoot a long-range nuclear missile at Hawaii for the 4th of July. It would launch from the northwestern coast of North Korea, from their Dongchang-ni site. The missile itself is believed to be a Taepodong-2 missile, with a range of up to 4,000 miles. The missile would probably not be able to actually reach the Hawaiian islands, but that seems irrelevant. It would still be an act of war, and we need to be ready to intercept that missile if our intelligence is wrong. Joe Biden had warned during the campaign last year that the world would be waiting to test Barack Obama, and apparently Kim Jong Il is rising to the occasion. So far, the Pentagon has ordered missile defense systems to be bolstered around Hawaii, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Obama still has plans to make cuts to our missile defense. On top of that, the Obama administration refused to allow the Navy to test our missile tracking radar during Kim Jong Il’s last launch, allowing Obama to keep repeating that our missile defense systems are “untested” and “unproven”.
And despite the fact that both Iran and North Korea are getting bolder and bolder with their nuclear tests, Obama’s still planning on cutting missile defense. His $1.2 billion in cuts will shrink the number of interceptor missiles in Alaska from 44… to 30. And this has both Republicans and Democrats worried. With all of the uncertainty about what the next threat from Iran or North Korea will be, an added layer of protection would not be unwise. The National Endowment for the Arts recently received $50 million in stimulus dollars. Amtrak received $1 billion dollars. Couldn’t we perhaps have taken some of that wasted money and put it towards something that the country actually needs?
President Bush is no longer in office. Does that mean that we can no longer preemptively defend ourselves? And this isn’t even an issue of invading or attacking North Korea – at the very least, couldn’t Obama make sure that we are protected from attack? The fact that he’s considering cutting our missile defenses when there’s an upcoming threat shows how clueless he is. But of course, when our president invites a potential enemy like Iran to celebrate the 4th of July with us, what else can be expected? Iran is killing protesters fighting for freedom and testing long-range nuclear missiles, but Obama can’t recognize the threat or even stand in solidarity with freedom fighters. Should we really be surprised that he can’t understand why we need to be strengthening our missile defenses and not weakening them?
Barack Obama talked often about using smart diplomacy during his campaign, but this is not smart diplomacy. Looking the other way when rogue nations run by evil dictators start testing nuclear weapons is not smart diplomacy. Letting tyrannical regimes celebrate independence and freedom with us on the 4th of July with no concern for the cruelty imposed upon their people is not smart diplomacy.
And cutting missile defenses when we’re being threatened with nuclear weapons is not smart diplomacy, either.
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Iran has erupted into full-scale chaos. Former Iranian President Rafsanjani has seen his family arrested. Thousands of protestors crowded the capital yesterday, where police met them with batons, water cannons, and… tear gas. Injured protestors are being arrested and detained when they go to hospitals for treatment, to the point where they have started fleeing to foreign embassies. Helicopters are allegedly pouring boiling water or some other burning agent onto protestors. Mousavi has released a statement saying he is prepared to be martyred. Over 20 bloggers and reporters have been reported to be arrested. The Basij is now breaking into people’s homes.
And then there is Neda. Before I show you the graphic and heartbreaking video, here’s some background:
A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij More.. member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim’s chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes.
The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St.
The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me.
Please let the world know.
Here is the video of Neda, a young girl murdered by Iranian police thugs. Her name meant “voice” or “the call” in Farsi, and she’s now being called the Voice of Iran. Her father screams in agony and pain as she dies in front of him. It will undoubtedly bring tears to your eyes and anger to your heart.
The murderers are the face of the Iranian regime. Neda is the face of those who have died fighting for freedom.
And then there is the worst rumor of all: that there is now a tank in Azadi Square.
Of course, Obama’s statement is nothing more than, once again, a “strongly-worded condemnation”. Shocking that he couldn’t garner more outrage or emotion over this chaos in Iran.
The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said – “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.
While Iranians are dying for freedom (there were 30 – 40 reported dead in yesterday’s protests alone), Obama has some tool skateboarding in the White House (disrespectful in and of itself, even without the current situation). And all he can summon up in his statement is that he mourns the lives lost, and that if Iran doesn’t cut it out, they’ll lose respect? Somehow, I don’t think that keeps Khamenei up at night, especially considering Obama is apparently still harboring hopes to have talks with the Iranian mullahs. Our president still wants to chat with a murderous regime that’s killing its own people in cold blood. What does that tell you?
Hat Tips: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, and Ace of Spades
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...The senator who almost always voted present is now the president, and when it comes to making statements about potentially controversial current events, what does he revert to?
Voting present.
He didn’t put out a statement on the Iranian election drama for three days, and even then only mentioned it because someone asked him about it. And of course, true to style, his statement was noticeably bland.
“Deeply troubled”? Protestors in Iran are getting beaten and murdered, and the best he could come up with was “deeply troubled”? Jeez, even Dr. Tiller got shock and outrage. Maybe we need to throw a late-term abortionist into the protests to get some emotion from Obama. It’s not like Obama needs to invade the country. No one’s expecting him to take military action. But for heaven’s sake, is it really too much to ask for Obama to at least give a strong statement that actually, I don’t know, says something?
Look, I wasn’t surprised at the results of the Iranian elections. Did anyone really expect an honest election out of Ahmedinejad and the mullahs? Of course not. No matter how the Iranian people actually voted, Ahmedinejad won. What is surprising is that the Iranians have finally had enough, and are revolting. While our youth are rioting in LA in celebration of a Lakers win, the Iranian youth are putting their lives on the line for their country. There are allegedly seven people who have been killed in these protests so far. Foreign journalists are being banned from reporting, including Al Jazeera. And as John noted, the mullahs can go the path of the Chinese and take the Tiananmen Square route, or they can follow in the footsteps of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s regime was evil and tyrannical, but he didn’t send in the tanks. And with the state department refusing to even verbally condemn the violence against the Iranian protestors, I somehow don’t see that the mullahs currently have much incentive to take the peaceful route. If these protests don’t die down within the next day or two, I fear that we will see some serious bloodshed.
I hope I’m wrong. But I don’t think I am.
Meanwhile, our “JFK-resurrected”, hope-n-change, oh-so-courageous president is keeping quiet, refusing to say anything, waiting to see which way the situation will go.
Voting present yet again.
(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...That oh-so-patriotic, America-loving organization Code Pink is at it again with all new shenanigans. This time, their newest way of expressing the America love is by trying to defy US sanctions on Iran!
WHAT: CODEPINK to lay out plans to invest in Iranian wind energy; “Let’s talk!” campaign with Obama
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 12 to Sunday, Dec. 14
WHERE: United for Peace and Justice National Assembly, Wyndham O’Hare Hotel – near Chicago O’Hare Airport, 6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont, ILCHICAGO — To defy crippling U.S. sanctions on Iran and build peaceful bridges between the countries, CODEPINK Women for Peace will announce plans this weekend to launch a new company that will invest in an Iranian wind energy company, allowing Americans to show support for peace and sustainability in Iran.
The company, called Winds of Change, will sell shares for $5 each. The shares will give investors an opportunity to support the Saba Niroo Wind Company, based in Tehran, and the campaign to end sanctions. Saba Niroo designs, develops and manufactures medium and large wind turbines, with a commitment to furthering the development of pollution-free energy to improve the health of our environment.
The U.S. Government has only not opposed Iran’s nuclear program, but it has also stymied Iran’s attempt to develop other energy alternatives. Recent U.S. pressure on the the Danish wind company Vestas has stopped Vestas from providing Saba Niroo with critical parts, halting production.
“It’s ironic that the West is so vehemently opposed to Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear energy, but it is sabotaging our efforts to develop clean energy sources like wind,” said Nader Niktabe, Sara Niroo’s managing director.
By supporting wind energy in Iran, investors will not only aid the environment but improve the political climate by breaking down trade barriers between the United States and Iran.
“Under present U.S. law, companies that invest in Iran are subject to a $1 million fine,” said Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder. “We’re challenging those unproductive restrictions and pushing the Obama administration to lift sanctions and establish peaceful relations with Iran.”
They really are charming, aren’t they? Of course, the fact that by giving money to Iran they are then funding the Iranian regime I guess never occured to them… or, it did occur to them and that just spurred them on more. With Code Pink, you never can tell.
But hey, let them do it. And if they do, I hope the government fines the living daylights out of them.
Hat Tip: The Jawa Report
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