President Obama’s Moral Cowardice In Iran

President Obama has shown moral cowardice in dealing with the brutal crack-down on the peaceful protesters in Iran. Ironically, it was at a press conference dealing with his new budget that Obama finally got around to saying something about Iran, after being asked to comment by a reporter. It was more of a professorial exposition on how lasting change can be brought and about the Iranian government’s hypocrisy than a direct, much less passionate, denunciation of the Iranian regime.

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Obama had no problem publicly cheering the protesters in Egypt on, and rightly declaring in a televised appearance:

As the situation continues to unfold, our first concern is preventing injury or loss of life. So I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protestors. The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.

But what about the “universal rights” of the Iranian people? Why isn’t the President using his bully pulpit to “stand up for them?” And why isn’t the New York Times pressing him to do so instead of running one editorial on the Obama budget and another attacking the Catholic Church for the umpteenth time? After Iranian lawmakers denounced Monday’s protests in Tehran and called for the execution of two opposition leaders for inciting the demonstrations, as reported by Iran’s state-run Press TV, where was the President? This was no idle threat since the Iranian regime has already executed dissidents in the last several weeks. Why didn’t President Obama come on TV immediately and condemn to the world, without having to be prompted by a reporter, the Islamist thugs ruling Iran with an iron hand, who send out their goon squads to beat and torture unarmed people in the streets , throw some of them in jail and threaten them with more executions? Nothing like we are seeing unfold in Iran came close to happening in Egypt, but Obama was out front and center on Egypt anyway, warning our ally Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to stand down, but remaining in the shadows on our enemies ruling Iran. He has said nothing to show firm personal support of the Iranian people in the streets bravely trying to exercise their universal freedoms. More...