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| Iran Crisis: Obama votes "Present" |
| 2009-06-20 |
| President Obama on Saturday called on the Iranian government to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people" amid calls for the White House to go further in showing support for the Iranian people after the country's disputed elections. Republicans, in particular, have pressed Obama to speak out more forcefully, as protesters and authorities clashed Saturday in Tehran during a government crackdown. "The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights," Obama said in a written statement. Obama also referred back to his speech this month to the Muslim world, saying "suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion." And Obama cited the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s, famous quote: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." "I believe that," Obama said. "The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples' belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness." Republicans, who have pushed Obama to speak out more forcefully against Tehran's crackdown on protesters, said the president's statement was long overdue, coming a day after Congress passed a resolution condemning the crackdown on protesters. "The Obama administration took a first step today," California Rep. Darrell Issa told FOX News. "Obviously, Congress was well ahead of the president. I think the president is playing catch-up." Issa said the president, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other Obama officials should make a series of additional statements to demonstrate when the United States stands. "You have to support these people whose aspirations are only freedom," he said. Before Obama's statement, Republicans had called on him to send a clear message |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #2 pretty obviously only US allies get the official Stink-Eye™. Better to pretend to be an Anti- America Rogue Regime, so all your goals are memorialized as "legitimate" and "inviolable". A big steaming glass of "I told you so" (smells like shit) to the 52% who voted for this empty suit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-06-20 20:32 |
| #1 Hey, cut the guy some slack, he was busy taking the kids out for ice cream. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-06-20 20:10 |