« Cops and Teachers vs. Chrysler and Obama | Sotomayor repeated 'wise Latina' crack dozens of times »
June 5, 2009
Obama reaches out - Iran reaches back with a slap in the face
It may be unrealistic to expect Muslim views of America to change overnight as a result of Obama's Cairo speech.
But how about a teeny tiny sign or acknowledgment of our president's effort?
None such sign was forthcoming from Tehran where the Supreme Leader himself, Ayatollah Khamenei blasted the president for his trouble.
This analysis by Thomas Erdbrink and William Branigin of the Washington Post quotes the Iranian leader:
"People of the Middle East, the Muslim region and North Africa -- people of these regions -- hate America from the bottom of their heart," Khamenei said at a gathering to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution and Khamenei's predecessor as the predominantly Shiite Muslim country's supreme religious leader.
"For a long time, these people have witnessed aggressive actions by America, and that's why they hate them," Khamenei, 69, told a crowd of several thousand supporters in his televised speech. He attributed these feelings to "violence, military intervention, rights violations and discrimination" by the United States.
Alluding to Obama's new approach in foreign affairs, he said that the previous administration of President George W. Bush had left an "ill-mannered image" of itself in the world.
"The new U.S. government seeks to transform this image," Khamenei said. "I say firmly that this will not be achieved by talking, speech and slogans." He added, "Even if [Obama] delivers hundreds of speeches and talks very sweetly, there will not be a change in how the Islamic countries perceive the United States." He called on Obama to deliver change "in practice."
Khamenei, never one to let an opportunity slip by to trash Israel, referred to the Jewish state as a "cancerous tumor in the heart" of the Islamic world..." A real softy, the old Ayatollah is.
Obama has indeed tried to change America's relationship with Iran "in practice" by offering several unilateral concessions, including a virtual "no bombing" pledge and a guarantee of the sovereignty of the Iranian regime. Those efforts too, were met with scorn by the mullahs.
With a presidential election coming up later this month, Iran won't be changing their policy towards us anytime soon. No one is "elected" president in that country unless they reject Israel's right to exist and believe America to be the "Great Satan."
It is doubtful anything Obama does except initiating total surrender to the mullahs will get him any progress in his attempts at rapproachment.
Hat Tip: Ed Lasky