While Obama remains historically timid and his standing July 4 invitation to the savage Iranian regime still open, Betsy Newmark makes some suggestions on ways to help the freedom seeking Iranians:
Here is an opportunity for the west to help out. First, outlets such as Radio Farda can be used to help spread the word because it is not likely that the Supreme Leader will leave Mousavi’s website alone if he’s urging a strike. Now is not the time to be cutting the funding for such efforts.
And here is also an opportunity for unions throughout the U.S. and Europe to step up to help strikers in Iran just as they once supported Solidarity in Poland. Perhaps there is a way for western unions to raise strike funds that could be channeled to help strengthen a general strike. Barack Obama likes to quote Martin Luther King; this seems like a peaceful sort of protest that could help to paralyze the Iranian regime.
This is the type of help that can go on below the radar so to speak. I’m hoping that these are the kinds of assistance that we’re doing that we just can’t talk about publicly yet.
The “timid” label may soon be considered inaccurate as Obama’s motivations gain greater scrutiny. Obama’s view of all things middle east and muslim are incongruent with a secular uprising in Iran. Particularly one so powerful that so thoroughly warms the hearts of Americans. With it becoming clear that a large segement of the Iranian protest longs for a gesture of support from Obama, his fence sitting becomes less and less defensible on an itellectual level.
If he continues along this path his associations with the likes of Rashid Khalidi will begin to define him. The Obama rhetoric will be seperated from the Obama actions such as his endorsement of the Saudi peace plan, brow beating of Israel on settlements and now his curious obstinance on Iran
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This post was written by bobsikes on June 23, 2009
