The Political Whore

By Ben Luongo
PoHo contributor

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the declared winner of the Iranian election last week, has told Obama to stop interfering with Iran’s affairs. According to Ahmadinejad:

We don’t expect much from British government and other European governments whose records and background are known for everybody and have no dignity but I wonder why Mr. Obama who has come with the slogan of change has fallen into the trap and taken the same route that Bush took and experienced its consequences.

After the jump is a video of Ahmadinejad asking Obama to stop “interfering” and express “regret.”

This comes after President Obama “strongly condemned” the violence that Iranian authorities were using against demonstrators in the streets.

Obama’s response?

Many have been critical of Obama’s neutrality saying that he needs to be stronger with his rhetoric and speak up against the injustice in Iran. Paul Wolfowitz’s Washington Post article, “‘No Comment’ Is Not an Option,” argued that Obama should not “dig in to a neutral posture” and that it was time to “change course.” His argument draws upon a case when Ronald Reagan chose a neutral position but later switched to take a stronger stance.

Wolfowitz argues that it was Reagan’s rhetoric that, in condemning Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos for rigging the election, caused Marcos to step down out of power and leave the country. The problem with comparing the Philippines to Iran, however, is that the U.S. does not have the same relationship with Iran as it did with the Philippines in 1986 and there for cannot assume the same influential role with Iran.

He also argues that George H. W. Bush’s rhetorical support for Yeltsin was the determining factor that dissolved the 1991 Soviet coup, (the actual reason was that the White House was sharing NSA information with Yeltsin that informed him which military officials were a liability).

Wolfowitz is not the only one who believes in the power of words. Many believe now that the rhetorical expression of virtue by the American President is enough to halt armies, tear down walls, and strike fear in our enemies. However, this is an incomplete and completely unrealistic revision of history. The world is too complex to reduce history to mere presidential rhetoric.

Furthermore, its a complete misunderstanding of human behavior, and state behavior for that matter. Tough talk does not bend our opponents to our will but only further exacerbates hostilities. Flexing your muscles doesn’t cause other to cower, rather they flex back. Were we expecting Ahmadinejad to bend simply because Obama said so? Instead, Ahmadinejad has fired back with a demand for an apology.  This is not the way to normalizing relations.

I am not suggesting that America should retain a permanently neutral posture, but we do have to show care for how we posture ourselves.  Our words and actions do have an impact on others, and its not always the impact that we anticipate.

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