Obama's Baffling Hesitation in the Middle East

As if we don’t have enough to consider vis-à-vis the American White House and its foreign affairs approach to Libya, this week we had another action in the grassroots effort to overthrow despotic regimes.

Recently, the Iranian president ordered the arrests of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, the two most prominent opposition leaders, who were also presidential candidates in the election won by Ahmadjinabad.

Last Tuesday, tens of thousands of Iranians in several major cities ignored the ban against public demonstrations and marched in support of the two detained leaders. Riot police were present to control and arrest them.

Some marchers also called for the ouster of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Cell phone videos show the protestors shouting “death to the dictator.”

At least 79 people were arrested, but the Tehran prosecutor denied that there was any serious event in Tehran the day of the marches.

The Iranian regime also refuses to confirm the arrests of Mousavi and Karroubi, saying only that they have been detained but not imprisoned.

Many of Iran’s top regime officials are on blacklists in the European Union and the United States for violation of human rights.

As in Libya, President Obama has refused to offer any active support to the Iranian freedom marchers.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently testified in Congress that there needs to be an effective counterattack in the Middle East in order to prevent Iranian hegemony from spreading widely in the region. She also said there is presently no effective US policy towards Iran.

Hillary Clinton noted that America is in a competition and needs to fight back against Iran for its abuses of its own people and to expose its hypocrisy. But, she added that the administration has “modulated” its human rights message because Iran would “basically paint anybody who opposed them as American stooges.”

Congress was not pleased with the current state of affairs. It seems Mrs. Clinton is not very pleased either.

That leaves the White House and President Obama, who seem to be doing their very best to snuff out any hope for democracy and fundamental improvement in the lives of Middle East citizens.
I supposed we should no longer be surprised, but I continue to be stupified.