Silly Little Country

Yes My Concern Exactly

Thomas Ricks puts it well. To which we can add the Shiite uprising in Iraq after the Gulf War. We have a shabby record regarding help and so ought not to appear to promise much.

A "tough" stance that Fox's anchors are pushing might feel good, but it likely would be unproductive. A sober stance of the sort that Obama has taken is more difficult but likely more effective in the long run.
Meanwhile, for those reality-based readers who were wondering about the vote in the Iranian countryside, in the LA Times, Babrak Rahimi, an academic who recently was doing research in southern Iran, says his sense is that rural Iranians did not vote overwhelmingly for the mean little guy.

It is evident that this current battle in Iran will be sorted by Iranians and it is ludicrous for outsiders to pretend they can make a difference. My saying I support the protesters is one thing. Obama saying it is another.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 2:11 PM