Obama to Ahmadinejad: Maybe Think About Not Killing Your Own People...And Have a Nice Day!

By Barry Rubin

I just noted something very curious in Obama's rhetoric on Iran, which might be summed up in the word: Repent! Or....um, nothing.

Obama said:

“I would suggest Mr. Ahmadinejad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people. And he might want to consider [emphasis added] looking at the families of those who have been beaten or shot or detained."

Really, he doesn't have to threaten war. But how about a tough declarative sentence? Consider, Obama didn't even say to Ahmadinejad:

he must look, or

he better look, or

he should look  or even

he might want to look

but merely:

he "might want to consider looking." I love that phrasing! Isn't it perfectly symbollic?'

And it's not even he might want to consider looking at stopping his nuclear weapons' campaign, or he might want to consider looking at having an honest election. No! It's just he might want to consider looking at some pictures in the Basij scrapbook of its victims.

At this point I get the picture in my mind of a Clint Eastwood's tough cop Dirty Harry confronting a crazed criminal and telling him to stop committing crimes.

The criminal says: "No."

And Clint says, "Oh, ok, no problem. Have a nice day!"

After all ,this is an administration one of whose officials said in regard to Iran: "`You can't be killing people in your own country and expect to still have [lots] of influence" in the region. Perhaps that's the administration's secret plan: encourage Iran's regime to go on crushing its own people as a way to destroy its power in the Middle East.

Compare this to Saddam Hussein's philosophy--he had some experiences in this matter and would be still ruling Iraq if not for the U.S.-led intervention: "If you do not break their heads, they will not understand."
 
But all kidding aside, other than the Israeli settlement issue has this administration in its first almost six months warned anyone on any international issue that it might actually do something if they went on behaving that way? Seriously! Terrorists? the Taliban? Pirates? North Korea? Inspector Clouseau? Auric Goldfinger? Dr. Evil?

And will I be able to make the same assertion after the administration's first anniversary? I sure hope not.

As for Obama, he might want to consider looking at his foreign policy and changing it.