Alex Massie Alex Massie

Neocons in a Persian Wonderland

Apparently black is white and up is down when it comes to some people’s analysis of events in Iran. Here, for instance, is our old friend Stephen Hayes:

Obama says he doesn’t want to be seen as “meddling” given the long history of US-Iranian relations. Leave aside the question of whether simply stating the obvious is “meddling.” If the majority of Iranians believe that Ahmadinejad’s re-election is not legitimate, isn’t it more likely that Obama’s silence in the face of a stolen election will be viewed as another chapter in that long history rather than the end of it?

There’s a simple answer to this: no it is not likely that the Iranian people, to the extent they give a damn about the American president, will see his circumspection as “meddling”.

And here’s John McCain, telling breakfast TV this morning that:

We’re not interfering when we take the side of the opposition.

This too is pretty simple stuff: you may not think of it as interference but what you think doesn’t matter.

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