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Some Thoughts on President Obama's Iranian Outreach

March 20, 2009 11:03 AM

From Dubai, ABC News' Lara Setrakian reports on the Nowruz comments President Obama made today to Iranians, and the reaction from Iranian presidential aide Aliakbar Javanfekr (click here for more background).

"It's significant that it's Javanfekr making these statements -- it's very important for Ahmedinejad to look like he is out front on this, publicly encouraging diplomacy even while his camp has been the spoiler on so many issues between Iran and the U.S. Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes that Obama's message puts hardliners like Javanfekr and his boss in an awkward position: They don't want a better relationship with the U.S. but also don’t want to be seen as the aggressors.

"I spoke to Sadjadpour here in Dubai, where the significant Iranian population has been loudly cheering Obama's message. Across the water, every ordinary Iranian I have spoken to has expressed warm excitement for Obama's message. Karim and other Iranian analysts stress the important of the following significant points in Obama's message:

" * Obama was smart to put it his message on the web, circumventing the potential censorship of a purely televised address. Iranians are heavy internet users and will have access to the message in full. 

" * Past presidents have issued Nowruz messages, but only aimed at the Iranian people. Obama's message addressed the people and the government, without drawing an antagonistic difference between the two.   

" * Quoting the poet Saadi at the end of the address is hugely significant -- invoking the wisdom Persian poetry is a powerful cultural symbol in Iran and an integral part of serious political dialogue. He quoted a poem that many Iranian children learn in school, one that deeply resonates.

" * As mentioned in Trita Parsi's analysis, use of the term 'Islamic Republic' is a concrete sign that the U.S. is changing its approach to Iran. That is not necessarily supporting or legitimizing the regime, but he's recognizing it and acknowledging it's the regime he has to deal with."

What do you think?

-- jpt

March 20, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (110)

User Comments

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"Dead Silent on these Glaring Numbers !!"

After 9/11, the left, and the American people screamed to improve intelligence, tighten up border security, have more police and security in the US. That cost federal dollars. Naturally most expected more federal spending.

However, Bush and the congress did go far beyond in spending on things like prescription drug programs, more money in medicaid, as well as bloated pork spending. For that everyone can agree that it was too much spending.

But now we are spending at twice the rate of Bush and somehow that's justified? Bush spending was pork, Obama spending is stimulus? Bush earmarks bad, Obama earmarks equals jobs! The blatant hypocrisy is astonishing.

Posted by: KR | Mar 23, 2009 12:56:18 PM

K+ R = Wrong

Bush Partied, Destroyed the Economy and Killed, all at the Same Time and You Never Blinked an Eye Lash.....

An None of You had a Problem Covering or Overting your [[EYE LIDS]] from the...

[[Generational Debt]] being Passed Down by his Former Republican President, George W. Bush Jr...

Dead Silent on these Glaring Numbers !!
--------------------------

United States Total Debt (Split)

End of Fiscal Year Intra-Governmental Holdings Debt Held by the Public

1999 2.020 trillion 3.636 trillion
2000 2.269 trillion 3.405 trillion

2001 2.468 trillion 3.339 trillion George W. Bush Jr.
2002 2.675 trillion 3.553 trillion
2003 2.859 trillion 3.924 trillion
2004 3.072 trillion 4.307 trillion
2005 3.331 trillion 4.601 trillion
2006 3.664 trillion 4.843 trillion
2007 3.958 trillion 5.049 trillion
2008 4.216 trillion 5.809 trillion George W. Bush Jr.

2009* est 5.900 trillion 6.400 trillion
-----------------------

Bye Now


Posted by: O. | Mar 23, 2009 11:24:08 AM

"2. 20 Billion Dollars Per Month, with Interest, to..."

Uh... 80B a year Iraq, 10B a year Afghanistan divided by 12 is 7.5B a month.

"3. Over 5,000 US Soldiers Lives, Thousands of Dis-Membered US Soldiers, Thousands of Forced Amputations, due to Military Action, Multiple of US Enlisted Committing Suicide, Hundreds of US Soldiers Returning Home, Injuring themselves via [[Self Inflicted Wounding]]"

It's still around 4,000, 2900 Combat related deaths. More have actually died from accidents than "suicides" and "self inflicted injuries", but you can make those numbers look however you want, as you did.

"4. And over 1,000,000 Innocent Iraqi Citizens. Infants, Boys, Girls, Women, Teenaged Children, Women, Men and the Elderly Killed, under Blatant Deceptions, Falsehoods and Stellar LIES."

Actually this has been proven to be lies commonly spread by American loving leftists in this country. The terrorists and insurgents we have killed have been labeled as "civilians" because they are not part of a government organization, thus easily thrown into a big hulking misleading number. The number of "true" innocents killed is a fraction of that, and all of them include actions by terrorist/insurgents/sectarian fighting.

So what you have done is intentionally (or your source did) use misleading numbers to make President Bush, our military troops and leaders look bad. Who do you think that helps, our troops or the people trying to undermine us?

Posted by: KR | Mar 23, 2009 9:32:02 AM

OK....

Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Dennis Praeger, Michael Savage and Anne Coulter Tough Talking Faux-Patriots...

Bush was such a Great Intellect, Economically Sound & Great Military Strategist...Huh
---------------

1. 6 Years in Iraq & Afghanistan to the Cost of Over...

2. 20 Billion Dollars Per Month, with Interest, to...

[[Communist-Socialist China]]

3. Over 5,000 US Soldiers Lives, Thousands of Dis-Membered US Soldiers, Thousands of Forced Amputations, due to Military Action, Multiple of US Enlisted Committing Suicide, Hundreds of US Soldiers Returning Home, Injuring themselves via [[Self Inflicted Wounding]]

4. And over 1,000,000 Innocent Iraqi Citizens. Infants, Boys, Girls, Women, Teenaged Children, Women, Men and the Elderly Killed, under Blatant Deceptions, Falsehoods and Stellar LIES.

5. President Bush in his [[8 Years]] as President...

NOTE: NEVER, EVER VETOED A SPENDING BILL AND YOU ANTI-BIG SPENDING BILL...

EXPANDED "BIG GOVERNMENT" TO ITS LARGEST SIZE...EVER, WITH THE HELP OF HIS MAJORITY RULING REPUBLICAN SENATE AND CONGRESS OF [[6 YEARS]]

PRESIDENT BUSH IN 2001, IMPLEMENTED A [[1 TRILLION DOLLAR STIMULUS]] AND NONE OF YOU FISCALLY SOUND, ANTI-BIG SPENDING, WORRIERS OF "GENRATIONAL DEBT" MADE NOT A SOUND, NOT EVEN A WIMPER...

JUST "YEAH BUSH WERE WITH YA" !!

YOU HYPOCRITES...

NEED TO INVENTORY THE PAST [[8 YEARS]]


UNBELIEVABLE !!

Posted by: O. | Mar 23, 2009 8:49:55 AM

I have to agree with the Iranians..this is just talk..we are ruining their economy and this President might not be around for more than four years. The Obama talkers just want to repackage a bunch of stuff and say it's new and improved.

Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | Mar 23, 2009 6:58:10 AM

why has not this president undergone a psychological and psychiatric evaluation. Let's face it something is definitely wrong here,

Posted by: lucy | Mar 23, 2009 5:38:37 AM

Reading the posts so far it isn't difficult to understand how a dimwit like Obama became President.

Posted by: Special | Mar 23, 2009 5:37:09 AM

Michael Moore the fat slob is the spokes person for the Democrats.

Posted by: thom gun | Mar 23, 2009 5:33:06 AM

Sorry about the Earlier Typos...

Some of You wanting Obama to Drop a Nuclear Bomb or Invade Iran as Bush did Iraq are...

1. Crazy !!

2. Insane !!

3. On Prescribed Medication

4. Sideline Cheer Leading, Arm Chair Soldiers...

Note: Willing to Cheer the Bloodshed & Carnage, but Un-Willing to Enlist or have your Love One's Enlist, to be Dis-Membered or worse.. Die Over there.

5. Listen to much to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Brit Hume.

Either way....

Your Crazy !!
------------

The Next Middle East Country We Invade, will be the Begining of the ...

[1st Nuclear War]] !!

It will cause a Chain Reaction, from Pakistan, India, China Russia and America...


We'll All ...Lose !!!

Go Ahead You Tough Talking...

Arm Chair War Mongers...

This Not WW1 Or WW2 or The Korean Conflict or the Viet Nam War.

This is the Nuclear Age...

This is the Nuclear Age.

Posted by: O. | Mar 22, 2009 11:48:27 PM

Score: Khamanhi -- 1

Obama -- 0


Obama's E.R.A. is going to balloon.
If he keeps pitching like this, he'll
be back in the minors in two months.

Posted by: Trajan | Mar 22, 2009 8:02:22 PM

Thank god for the free prsss again for reporting this to.

added to obama's destruction of America, he is now trying to fine farmers for growing without the governments permission and regulate every step the farmers make!

Posted by: DOG HEADED FACE | Mar 22, 2009 3:02:17 PM

How is Obama going to get a trillion dollars to pay for his spend a thon.

Obama is going to steal our money by printing off all this cash!
By devaluing the dollar, Obama making the money that people have worked for their whole lives worth less and less.

Posted by: DOG HEADED FACE | Mar 22, 2009 2:59:42 PM

good thing we have a free press which reports that Obama placed a set of new sanctions against Iran two weeks ago.

If it wasn't for the fact that we had a free press, people would think that Obama was trying to make nice with Iran, and they wouldn't understand why the Iranians reacted the way they did.

Posted by: Flash Override | Mar 22, 2009 11:58:08 AM

Trajan 1:16:41 am,

Don't forget playing with the swing at his play ground.

Posted by: cilla | Mar 22, 2009 1:06:29 AM

More proof that President Obama and
his Media Cheerleaders have been
comparing him to the wrong presidents!
There is no comparison between Obama
and Lincoln, Kennedy, FDR, or Reagan.
The correct comparison is between
President Obama and President
Jimmy Carter. This will be
Jimmy Carter Part Deux!

Posted by: reaganfan | Mar 21, 2009 9:54:07 PM

An astute poster said: So, the Iranians pretty much told him to go to ####.

--------

The American people are doing the same thing.

Posted by: tanarg | Mar 21, 2009 9:49:11 PM

OBAMA fans: you have a brainless president and you think you have Einstein. But you have what you deserve.

Posted by: max | Mar 21, 2009 8:56:42 PM

Good Idea to wake the A. Khomeni up!

Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | Mar 21, 2009 7:29:22 AM

If this olive branch by Obama is flaunted by Iran....he's going to
go ballistic! He'll hoe a row in
the new White House garden, go on
the "View" and "Oprah", smoke a
Marlboro in private.......and promise
Iran to give his next address in
flawless Farsi.....via teleprompter,
of course. MSNBC will laud the effort.

Posted by: Trajan | Mar 21, 2009 1:06:41 AM

This president seems to be looking for a reach-across. He'll be lucky if he gets a reach-around.

Posted by: Van der Leun | Mar 21, 2009 12:23:01 AM

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