Obama and the Media Get It Wrong on Mideast Elections
Their interpretation of events in Iran and Lebanon has combined self-righteousness with ignorance.
The election outcome in Lebanon is the result of two unreported trends throughout the Middle East: the repudiation of Iranian proxies and the rejection of sectarianism. In Iraq’s governorate elections this year, the Iraqis ousted Islamist parties once propped up by the Iranian regime in favor of secular and non-sectarian political blocs. Nearly 4,000 Iraqi women ran for political office. In Kuwait this year, liberal and secular parties swept to victory in parliamentary elections, including four female parliamentarians — just a few short years after Kuwaiti women were allowed to run for office. Morocco’s last elections saw the fall of a major Islamist sectarian party, which was widely favored to win. The citizens of Lebanon and the broader Middle East have come to the conclusion that tolerating fanaticism will eventually fall victim to diminishing returns.
Which brings us to Iran’s electoral charade. All of the mainstream media and international press reports toed the line of conventional wisdom, whereby one candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, played the role of “hard-liner,” and the other, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, was cast as the proverbial “reformist moderate.”
Trumpeting up Mousavi’s “reformist” credentials, Leslie H. Gelb predicted, “This emerging Tehran and President Obama’s Washington are bound to find a common bond in fighting extremism both in Iran and among its volatile neighbors.” Andrew Sullivan even compared Mousavi to Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, with his “reform” agenda and all.
Thankfully, there are a few sober journalists with a decent memory, like Michael Goldfarb, who remember Mousavi’s brutal premiership under Khomeini throughout the 1980s. Under Mousavi’s rule, more than a million people were killed in the Iran-Iraq war. Mousavi proclaimed, “Israel should be annihilated.” He threatened, “Tomorrow will be the day we step on the Great Satan. … Tomorrow is the time for America to see our iron fists.” He called for the murder of Salman Rushdie for the offense of writing a novel — he proclaimed it a religious duty for all Muslims — and he oversaw the assassination of political opponents.
Despite what the Boston Globe and Huffington Post may say, Mir-Hossein Mousavi is no moderate. With that said, he is nowhere near as radical as his opponent, the incumbent Ahmadinejad. Regarding the Mousavi-Ahmadinejad election, President Obama unbelievably said, “We are excited to see what appears to be a robust debate taking place in Iran,” adding, “We think there’s the possibility of change. Ultimately the election is for the Iranians to decide.” Truly remarkable.
Clearly, President Obama has not read up on how Iran’s “elections” work. The Iranian people do not decide anything. The presidential nominees must first be pre-approved by the unelected mullahs who rule the country, and if the regime’s preferred candidate does not go on to win, then the election results are either rigged or ignored altogether. Case in point: the Iranian people, who overwhelmingly oppose the regime, voted for Mousavi as a sign of protest against Ahmadinejad and his clerical masters. But the mullahs — after blocking Mousavi’s websites and banning text messaging amongst Mousavi’s supporters — went on to declare Ahmadinejad the winner anyway.
With charges of fraud and conspiracy, the world knows the election was a farce. Even Mousavi knows — and he’s part of the government!
What President Obama praises as a legitimate democratic process — read: “change” — is anything but. The Iranian people’s favorable opinion of the United States is down from last year for this very reason. We should be lending credence to the voices of Iran’s dissidents, not Iran’s tyrants. We should show the Iranian people, in word and deed, that we understand their dictatorship and that we understand their dictators. We should show solidarity.
We will never do that by cutting their democracy funds or by turning a blind eye to, and indeed praising, their rigged elections.
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Nicholas Guariglia is a foreign policy analyst and columnist who writes on Islam and Middle Eastern geopolitics. He is a contributing editor for Family Security Matters and blogs at WorldThreats.com. He can be reached at nickguar@gmail.com.
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12 Comments
1. vivo:The USA should lend moral support to the forces of democracy in Iran. Going beyond that is just meddling in foreign affairs. The Iranians know what they are doing, either manipulated or on their own. It’s the usual story: the powerful play and the little ones get beaten. The final say might be in the hands of the Ayatollah.
Jun 16, 2009 - 4:18 am 2. Terry Gain:vivo
Please tell your president to work up the wisdom and courage to lend moral support to the forces of democracy in Iran even at the risk of reminding some of his freedom loving and enhancing predecessor.
Jun 16, 2009 - 5:47 am 3. jerryofva:Vivo:
I see that you are confused when you do get the party line from HQ. So let’s deconstruct your post to find out where you stand.
“The USA should lend moral support to the forces of democracy in Iran.”
A nice bland statement which can apply to either candidate for President. The outcome of the vote is democracy even enforced at the point of the gun.
“Going beyond that is just meddling in foreign affairs.”
No, that would be meddling in internal affairs. If we were to oppose Iran’s actions in supporting the neo-Nazi forces of Hezbollah or Hamas then we would be “meddling” in foreign affairs.
“The Iranians know what they are doing, either manipulated or on their own.”
Yes both sides know what they are doing and of course the forces opposing the Mullahs are being manipulated by the neo-cons and Jews.
“It’s the usual story: the powerful play and the little ones get beaten.”
Both sides are to blame and the dumb sheeple are caught in the middle.
“The final say might be in the hands of the Ayatollah.”
You don’t say? My you are so perceptive. And of course the Ayatollah will make the right decision and Obama will wisely accept it.
Jun 16, 2009 - 5:55 am 4. Fragmentarian:Unfortunately, the president appears to be either totally naive and imcompetent on this matter or he actually supports the status quo in Iran. Win win?
Jun 16, 2009 - 7:00 am 5. Meryl:“Their interpretation of events in Iran and Lebanon has combined self-righteousness with ignorance.
That summary line nicely characterizes almost everything coming out of this administration.
From 1939:In The Shadow of War, by Robert Kee, “Those who believed in a policy of appeasement, (were) backed almost as an afterthought by preparation for its failure, now confronted the awkward reality that the afterthought was likely to be the most important part of their policy.”
Jun 16, 2009 - 7:16 am 6. johnt:Go easy on Obama. The man has enough on his hands trying to drag down and financially ruin his country. Foreign relations, normally the province of Presidents, must take second place to our eloquent and brilliant reformer, if it has any real place at all.
Jun 16, 2009 - 7:50 am 7. Hotpatch 6:Obama has voted “present”, problem solved.
Jun 16, 2009 - 8:03 am 8. Hyphenated American:What Iranian Dissidents and American Patriots should do.
Jun 16, 2009 - 8:21 am 9. arhooley:http://hyphenatedamericans.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-iranian-dissidents-and-american.html
Nicholas, your notes on Mousavi leave me wondering, What do the Iranians want out of these protests? What do they think Mousavi is? Or do they want to turn over the whole mullahcracy?
Jun 16, 2009 - 8:49 am 10. Mike:From the Iran Daily
Leader Approves
Vote Inquiry
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Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Sunday said that if the defeated pro-reform presidential contender Mir Hossein Mousavi has complaints about the June 12 elections he should follow up the matter through legal channels.
“In the previous elections too some contenders had problems. They followed it up through the Guardians Council (GC), as the legal source responsible for attending such complaints. It is obvious that this time too complaints should be pursued through legal channels,“ the leader said in a meeting with Mousavi, IRNA reported.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to Mousavi’s letter to the GC and said the powerful oversight body has been ordered to carefully examine it.
In a letter to the GC the former prime minister said the election was rigged and the result should be annulled.
The leader referred to enemy provocations and the behind-the-scenes machinations for creating tension in the streets and told Mousavi: “By nature you are different from those who want to create problems, and it is crucial that you proceed with gentleness and clam.“
He lauded the unprecedented participation of the people in June 12 vote and addressing Mousavi said, “Thank God Almighty, the election was valid and held in a clam and sound manner. You should pursue your concerns through the law.“
In the past few days people, especially the youth, poured into the streets in protest and claimed that the election was rigged. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election with 24.5 million votes while Mousavi took 13 million votes. The two other contenders, former commander of Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohsen Rezaei and former Majlis Speaker, Mehdi Karroubi together garnered about a million votes.
Jannati’s Statement
Meanwhile, GC Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati in a statement Monday called on the defeated presidential aspirants to submit their complaints as soon as possible.
“Pursuant to the directives of the leader in his meeting with the presidential contender Mousavi and based on notes one to three of Article 80 of the election law, the GC thanks the leader for his recommendation to follow up the complaints via legal channels and hereby announces its preparedness to attend to all complaints within the legal deadline,“ the statement said, ISNA reported.
GC Spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei on Monday said the Council has invited the three former aspirants who have complaints about the results of the election to attend a meeting with GC members on Tuesday and raise their concerns.
He said the Interior Ministry had sent the election results to the GC on Monday and the Council is now reviewing the validity of the vote and will announce its decision within the legal deadline.
Positive Impact
Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi also on Monday said that the presidential elections had a very good impact on the international community.
“We hope that President Mahmoud Ahmadniejad in his second term will be more successful through the coordination of other officials while the judiciary, like other institutions of the country, remains at the service of the people and officialdom,“ he noted.
The top judge added “If the candidates have complaints about the results of the election they should follow up the subject through the legal channels and prevent their supporters from coming into streets which only benefits the opportunists and vandals.“
The new government should also employ the services of the defeated presidential hopefuls and the elite in its programs for the next four years.
“I sincerely and humbly urge the people to be patient. It is not fair that the valuable services rendered to the people and the realities of the election are undermined.“
http://www.iran-daily.com/1388/3425/html/
Jun 16, 2009 - 10:38 am 11. WestWright:The naif Obama and his leftist and pitiful foreign service along with the mental midgets in the US Press just don’t know how much they don’t know. Think of all the money wasted at those affirmative addicted elite universities learning about the wonders of 19th Century Marxism.
Jun 16, 2009 - 3:08 pm 12. Typos_R_us:All politicians take credit for positive events and blame negatives on an underling. Why should an illegal President be any different?
Jun 16, 2009 - 9:29 pm