Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Thomas Friedman, "Morsi’s Wrong Turn": Another Obama Foreign Policy Failure

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency today (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/opinion/friedman-morsis-wrong-turn.html):

"Iran’s successful organization and hosting of the NAM summit here in Tehran has neutralized all the anti-Iran plots, and the international community is beginning to accept the idea that Iran is by no means an isolated state, but quite the contrary, actually enjoys huge international support, especially on its nuclear program."

Now read Thomas Friedman's latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Morsi’s Wrong Turn" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/opinion/friedman-morsis-wrong-turn.html), in which he claims:

"Excuse me, President Morsi, but there is only one reason the Iranian regime wants to hold the meeting in Tehran and have heads of state like you attend, and that is to signal to Iran’s people that the world approves of their country’s clerical leadership and therefore they should never, ever, ever again think about launching a democracy movement — the exact same kind of democracy movement that brought you, Mr. Morsi, to power in Egypt."

So whereas Friedman would have us believe that the only reason for hosting the NAM summit in Tehran is to show that the world approves of the way in which the mullahs crushed the Green Revolution, Iran's media is telling us that the NAM summit is being used to demonstrate that much of the world approves of its drive to build nuclear weapons. Big difference.

Yet another Iranian objective specified by the Mehr News Agency (http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1683406), but which goes unmentioned by Friedman, is to "oppose foreign intervention in Syria," i.e. garner support for Iran's heinous ally, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who is busy gunning down thousands of civilians in a countrywide civil war.

Friedman, however, is also correct: Morsi should be ashamed to be "lending his legitimacy" to a regime that crushed a nascent democracy movement and murdered, imprisoned and tortured the movement's leaders.

Friedman also asks, "why is Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, lending his hand to this Iranian whitewashing festival?"

Allow me to answer his question. Ban Ki-moon, Mohamed Morsi and all others attending the NAM summit in Tehran are basically hedging their bets. They don't believe that a weak-kneed Obama will prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons and wish to be remembered as having offered succor to Iran when it tests its first atomic bomb.

Or in other words, the United States can bankroll the United Nations and continue to provide Egypt with billions of dollars of aid each year, but cannot expect Ban Ki-moon and Morsi to respect American efforts to isolate Iran.

Chalk this up as another Obama foreign policy failure, and so much for Friedman's much vaunted "Arab spring."

1 comment:

  1. "Chalk this up as another Obama foreign policy failure, and so much for Friedman's much vaunted "Arab spring."
    Of course, Obama's foreign policy is a failure. Sadly, it was a predictable failure.
    I live in New York and you can't believe how much nonsense I witnessed in 2007-2008: "He's a saint, no, no, no, he's a Messiah, no, no, no he's GOD." The entire Upper West Side was in orgasm. "Quality" arguments were said and repeated and repeated: "He walks," (ohhhh) "He talks" (ohhhh), "He smiles" (ohhhhh), "He writes" (ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - he wrote how wonderful he is!!!)), etc. At that time, I was an active participant of NYT forums, and I remember practically ordering Frank Rich, one of the most vocal Obama's admirer, to get lost, informing (not reminding - he knows nothing) that messianic movements usually end up tragically.
    Frankly, that something similar could have happened was obvious to me long before 2007. When I came to New York I was stunned when I heard this or that professor repeat: "We don't give them knowledge [what ?????-an.] - we inspire them."
    Yes, they didn't give knowledge (as ordered) to a couple of generations. They did raise them in firm belief that content doesn't matter, that only firm handshake, big smile and looking in the eyes matter and result in fame and fortune.
    The consequences can be tragic.
    I am waiting for an analysis of madness and dishonesty. The same morons? (some clearly were bastards) who promoted Obama, will now babble: "He's changed." Don't expect any introspection from this crowd.

    ReplyDelete