Obama dithers while Iran represses

Washington Times Editorial:

We would think President Obama would want to lend his considerable oratorical talents to history-making events in Iran. Instead, he makes fumbling statements like "there is a questioning of the kinds of antagonistic postures toward the international community that have taken place in the past." Witness also Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's wooden and noncommittal statement in Canada on Saturday that the United States is "monitoring" events, "waiting and watching."

Other world leaders have seized the initiative. German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the arrests of oppositionists. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned that the regime's response would "have implications for Iran's relationships with the rest of the world." French President Nicolas Sarkozy denounced the election as a "fraud" and said the vote-rigging was unacceptable.

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American dithering radiates weakness and indecisiveness. It tells the Iranian regime that the United States is so eager to make a deal that it will not even defend its principles. The crisis seems to be an inconvenience that risks delaying the implementation of the vaunted "engagement" plan. The administration would like to see this messy situation go away so the stately process of diplomacy can continue its march, unburdened by annoying freedom seekers with their banners, their chanting and their ideals.

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Obama certainly does not look like a leader. He is off script, because the facts have moved out from under the premise of his engagement with Iran. Perhaps he could at least say the regime has an empathy deficit for the voters of Iran.