Iranian-American protesters debate Obama’s stance

Though President Obama has been criticized by Conservatives for not “condemning” the Islamic Republic, most Iranian-Americans seem to think his response has been sensitive to the many pitfalls that could endanger the opposition in Iran.

Most Iranians seem to believe that America could very easily weaken the protests and any chances of a governmental change in Iran, if America oversupported Mousavi and his supporters and made them look like the new American contractors of regime change in a land that has had many brushes with American supported coups.

However, the Administration’s comments were forced to become more heated last week as America watched videos of Iranians being shot or beaten across Iran.

Republicans had latched onto the Iranian elections as a cause celebre. But many Iranian-Americans disagree with how republicans, like Dana Rohrabacher, have gone as far as blaming the President’s lack of condemnation for the violence in Iran.

Iranian-Americans seem to be saying that the response from Obama has been at the very least understandable.

“Obama’s situation is tough right now. Remember America was involved in the Iran Iraq war in the 1980s,” a man named Omid reminded me as he arrived at a protest in Irvine, CA.

But the Obama administration should pay attention to how easily Iranian-American understanding can turn into condemnation. If the violence reaches a certain level, Iranian-Americans will most likely be quick to feel a major response, such as political sanctions, is already late. No Iranians I spoke to were in favor of economic sanctions.

Many Iranians at the local protests in Irvine made it clear that any military movement by the US would be decried by the Iranian-American community.

Many involved with the nightly protests say they feel angry with the overtly political strategy of some republicans.

Some Iranian-Americans said they view the republican strategy as simply stepping on the backs of the fallen Iranian protesters in hopes of creating a bridge towards greater numbers in the polls.

In reference to a conservative press conference last week, headlined by Huntington Beach’s Representative Dana Rohrabacher and Irvine’s conservative Representative Chuck Devore, Iranian-American Mehrnoosh said, “I was very angry at Rohrabacher. We don’t need military aid we need first aid.”

“Iranians stood up and told told him we needed the United States to stay back and only find ways to help the wounded and he side stepped the question and just stayed on message.”

As Mehnoosh held her candle in honor of the the Iranians that have passed away, she lamented that while the press conference was supposed to be about Iran, Rohrabacher “made it a political lesson on Ronald Reagan and free countries of the 1980’s when it should have been about the bravery of Iranians.”

Another woman, who wears both an Iranian flag and an Elvis Presley button on her jacket, said that politicians pushing for involvement in the Iranian protests need to remember that it was America and Britain that removed the last democratically elected president of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddeq. “And it was all over oil. Iranians remember this,” she adds.

If Western countries had not pushed for that coup, there could have been no Shah, meaning the current regime that overthrew the Shah would be non-existent. In other words, these protests would not be happening at all. With this history, Obama seems to be playing his cards right by being so careful with his words.
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