The Weekly Standard: Barack Obama, Neocon

[JudyInTheHeartland]

Barack Obama, Neocon

The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.

I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not at all interfering in Iran’s affairs. But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place.

The Iranian people are trying to have a debate about their future. Some in the Iranian government are trying to avoid that debate by accusing the United States and others outside of Iran of instigating protests over the elections. These accusations are patently false and absurd. They are an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders. This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won’t work anymore in Iran. This is not about the United States and the West; this is about the people of Iran, and the future that they – and only they – will choose.

The Iranian people can speak for themselves. That is precisely what has happened these last few days. In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice. Despite the Iranian government’s efforts to expel journalists and isolate itself, powerful images and poignant words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we have watched what the Iranian people are doing.

This is what we have witnessed. We have seen the timeless dignity of tens of thousands Iranians marching in silence. We have seen people of all ages risk everything to insist that their votes are counted and their voices heard. Above all, we have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets. While this loss is raw and painful, we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights, and heed the will of its own people. It must govern through consent, not coercion. That is what Iran’s own people are calling for, and the Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government.

There are some things to quibble with, but this is much, much better.

Posted by Stephen F. Hayes on June 23, 2009 12:39 PM

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/06/barack_obama_neocon.asp

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. They wish. nt

[SunsetDreams]

2. There is no "Neocon" about it.

[HopeOverFear]

3. What the hell is neocon about that?

[PVnRT]

4. Huh? What's "neocon" about that?

Neocons want to bomb Iran and install a Western-friendly government regardless of what the people there want, something that worked oh so well the first time we did it.

Obama's responses on this issue have been spot on - support, well-wishes, and staying the fuck out of it otherwise.

[applegrove]

9. I agree.

[Arkana]

11. I think the article's title is a sarcastic response to whatever critics

he has on the left concerning the Iran issue.

Or maybe I'm wrong. I don't know.

[scheming daemons]

5. Um... nothing in that statement is even REMOTELY "neocon"

You're high.

[jenmito]

6. Riiiight. If he were a neocon, he would've called for regime change in Iran and

would've said he now refuses to talk to Ahmadinejad if he remains in power.

[Mz Pip]

7. So does this mean Stephen Hayes

and his merry band of twits like Obama now?

[zulchzulu]

8. "The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein has Endangered America"

Written by the same asshat who wrote the article...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Hayes

Yep, Fat Steve works with chickenshit chickenhawk William Kristol, the principle founder of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). I guess he wants to get paid.

:puke:

[CJCRANE]

10. Wow, the RW meme machine works fast! nt

[asphalt.jungle]

12. What this clown is not letting on is that the "some things to quibble with"

are pretty damn major. Those small quibbles are the difference between people troubled by oppressive actions by a govt and those that see oppressive actions by a govt as grounds for waging war.

And he's not immune to same ego stroking that some bloggers on the left like to engage in. They want to take credit for any action taken by the president as a response to their "pressure": see we did it.