Sunday brought out a whole raft of foreign policy experts like Sen. Charles Grassley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Sen. John McCain, as well as actor Fred Thompson, to suggest that the Obama administration's response to events in Iran has been weak or insufficient.
Sen. Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, who actually knows a thing or two about international policy, said that the Obama response was about right. More important, Iranians in the U.S., who might also be expected understand the finer points of how the wrong official U.S. statement could redound against the cause of democracy in Iran, have also indicated they think the administration has taken an appropriate line.
As some analysts are pointing out, there's a useful distinction to be drawn between our sticking in our two-cents'-worth regarding the fairness of the election (without further evidence of fraud), and expressing ourselves regarding the harsh police crackdown against protesters (which Obama has called "unjust"). I imagine we'll see a stronger Obama statement on this point soon.
As for the contested elections, perhaps U.S. critics would prefer to apply the Iraq model: take out the guy we don't like, force elections, and enthrone democracy . But even if you think that worked in Iraq (I don't), the fact is that strong, lasting democratic institutions cannot be imposed or created at the snap of anyone's fingers. They develop from within a country, from indigenous political currents. Developments yesterday provide good evidence of this thesis. Former President Rafsanjani has been critical of Ahmadinejad, and he failed to appear publicly to support the government's call to unite behind the "official" election results; Rafsanjani's daughter has supported Mousavi, and she and some other relatives have reportedly been arrested. Evidently, differences exist within the ruling clerical clique. This is the kind of ferment that over time can give birth to democracy. But both Rafsanjani and Mousavi would be in far more tenuous political situations if our statements allowed Khamenei to paint them credibly as a stalking horse for the Great Satan.
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