Memo to Republicans: Obama is Tougher on Iran Than George W. Bush
By Jeffrey Goldberg
The Atlantic
Feb 21 2012, 9:46 AM ET 5
Michael Shear has a useful round-up about continuing Republican efforts to paint Barack Obama as soft on Iran:
Mitt Romney has called Iran's nuclear ambitions Mr. Obama's "greatest failing" and said during a debate in New Hampshire last month that the president "did not do what was necessary to get Iran to be dissuaded from their nuclear folly."
Rick Santorum has accused Mr. Obama of acting "naively and cavalierly" about Iran's potential for nuclear weapons, saying on his Web site that "if Barack Obama has taught us anything, it's that experience matters."
These are not serious attacks. We have reached this point in the Iranian nuclear drama for many reasons. The main reason, of course, is that Iran, which behaves generally as an outlaw state, is defying the international community by pursuing what appears to be a nuclear weapons program. Why is Iran pursuing this program so ardently? Well, one reason is that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by George W. Bush (for which you will hear few complaints on Goldblog) convinced the Iranian regime that it needs the insurance policy represented by a nuclear weapons program. This is not the only reason, of course: Iran has hegemonic pretensions, and these can be best expressed through the acquisition of a nuclear capability. Iran also feels that it is surrounded by enemies, and like many countries in such situations, it believes a nuclear arsenal will aid it discouraging regional adversaries from adventurism. To acknowledge this fact is not to endorse the motivation or the analysis (the Iranian regime may want to ask itself why this situation has come to pass, but introspection is not a popular sport in the greater Middle East.)
(Original here.)
The Atlantic
Feb 21 2012, 9:46 AM ET 5
Michael Shear has a useful round-up about continuing Republican efforts to paint Barack Obama as soft on Iran:
Mitt Romney has called Iran's nuclear ambitions Mr. Obama's "greatest failing" and said during a debate in New Hampshire last month that the president "did not do what was necessary to get Iran to be dissuaded from their nuclear folly."
Rick Santorum has accused Mr. Obama of acting "naively and cavalierly" about Iran's potential for nuclear weapons, saying on his Web site that "if Barack Obama has taught us anything, it's that experience matters."
These are not serious attacks. We have reached this point in the Iranian nuclear drama for many reasons. The main reason, of course, is that Iran, which behaves generally as an outlaw state, is defying the international community by pursuing what appears to be a nuclear weapons program. Why is Iran pursuing this program so ardently? Well, one reason is that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by George W. Bush (for which you will hear few complaints on Goldblog) convinced the Iranian regime that it needs the insurance policy represented by a nuclear weapons program. This is not the only reason, of course: Iran has hegemonic pretensions, and these can be best expressed through the acquisition of a nuclear capability. Iran also feels that it is surrounded by enemies, and like many countries in such situations, it believes a nuclear arsenal will aid it discouraging regional adversaries from adventurism. To acknowledge this fact is not to endorse the motivation or the analysis (the Iranian regime may want to ask itself why this situation has come to pass, but introspection is not a popular sport in the greater Middle East.)
(Original here.)
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