06.22.2009 10:37 am

How should the United States deal with protests in Iran?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

With protests worsening in Iran over the weekend, many are wondering if the United States should step in already and help.

President Obama has only made comments about protests instead of taking any action. According to the BBC, he said:

I am deeply troubled by the violence that I’ve been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability for folks to peacefully dissent, all those are universal values and need to be respected.

Obama has also explained why he does not want to take action in an interview with CBS’ The Early Show last week according to an Associated Press article:

The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States. We shouldn’t be playing into that.

But those statements were made before police began attacking protesters with tear gas and shooting live bullets in the air over the weekend. The death toll also rose sharply. A total of 13 protesters were killed on Saturday according to Iranian State Media reports on Sunday bringing the death toll to 20 since the protests began, according to a Times Online article.

There’s even been a video posted on YouTube of a woman getting shot during the protests.

Despite the growing violence, Iranian leadership doesn’t want any help.

According to Fox News, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the United States and Britain yesterday to stop meddling in Iran’s internal affairs. He said:

Definitely by hasty remarks you will not be placed in the circle of friendship with the Iranian nation. Therefore I advise you to correct your interfering stances

They (Western countries) want to portray as small the great and powerful position that has been created for the Iranian nation inside and outside after the recent election, by which of course they made a mistake and they showed they still do not know the Iranian nation.Definitely recent events will add to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s greatness and might.

Should the United States disregard the comments made by Iranian leadership and interfere anyway for the sake of protestors? How much worse do the protests need to get for the United States to have a duty to interfere? What could be a consequence of interfering? And if we should interfere, how should we do it?

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Leave em be.

— Amazedbythelunacy

11:13 am June 22nd, 2009

You cannot impose democracy on a country, it has to come from within. Of course we would like to see the protesters succeed, but if we show support for them, the hardliners in power will claim that the reform movement is a front for America’s ambitions in Iran. It will give them the excuse to use massive force to maintain power, while providing a handy scapegoat for the violence, and simultaneously discredit the opposition.

I think the hardliners in power in Iran will still use force - they will do anything to stay in power. But with the US staying out of it, they won’t have a handy scapegoat for their use of violence. The Iranian government will be recognized for what they are. No, I don’t think revolution will occur this time. But thanks to careful actions on our part, the actions of the Iranian government will only hurt them, not fuel more hatred for us.

— Anonaman

11:15 am June 22nd, 2009

I think it’s okay for the US to say it’s concerned about the opposition protestors. Other than that, it’s really none of our business. The problem is a rift within the group that governs Iran and we have no place or power to do anything. Let them figure it our on their own.

— jfmoyn

11:16 am June 22nd, 2009

Why should the United States deal with the protest in Iran?

— first tom

11:16 am June 22nd, 2009

Of course we disregard them. Even Iran’s closest European trading partners have denounced the regime and voiced support for the protests. Something is seriously wrong when Germany and France take the lead in promoting democracy. The mullahs have lost all credibility with their own citizens. That’s why millions of them are out in the streets risking jail, beatings, and death.

The Islamic fascists are on the ropes and President Soft Serve can barely muster the courage to issue a tepid response. A real president wouldn’t have hesitated to offer moral support. This one hides under his desk.

— Go_Fish

11:19 am June 22nd, 2009

I didn’t vote for O, but I think he has this one (and so far several other things for now) just right. We need to learn to stay out of Arab conflicts and internal politics. We do not want our fingerprints on this one, nor our young men and women and we can’t let them think that is possible ala Iraq and Afghanistan.
Having said that, I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t the beginning of the positive history being written for President Bush as the result of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It started already in the Lebanon vote. They see that change is possible and they too want democracy.

— A CENTRIST

11:26 am June 22nd, 2009

This is another war we do not need to be a part of. Our government should voice it’s opinion, and leave it be. We do not need to stick our noses into every conflict on this planet. Regardless of how much worse the protests get, we do not have a duty to interfere. A consequence of interfering would be giving Islamic radicals even more reason to hate us, and try to kill ordinary Americans just for being American. Another consequence is the further debt our country would incur due to the money we would have to spend, for generations, in yet another foreign country. Our country has a duty to help it’s own citizens, and there are scores of people in this country who need that help right now. We need to fix our own country’s problems.

— b

11:53 am June 22nd, 2009

After Bush stole both the 2000 and 2004 elections the United States has no place pointing fingers are planning CIA coups (despite them doing it at this moment) to install another of the USA’s MONSTERS around the world. Yeah, that’s right! I said MONSTERS! and I only said it because it’s 100% True!

— Bushbots

12:26 pm June 22nd, 2009

In case you hadn’t noticed, Islamist radicals hated us long before this. This isn’t something the US is being forced into suddenly. The islamist regime in Iran declared war against the US 30 years ago. They’re responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American citizens, both military and civilian during that time, and make little effort to hide their involvement in terror and proxy wars that have killed thousands of Muslims around the world. It’s lunacy to pretend we’ve got no dog in this fight.

The world is watching President Ice Cream Cone.

— Go_Fish

12:59 pm June 22nd, 2009

If you’re not for bombing them and killing lots of civilans and installing another Shah in order to steal their oil, then it’s pretty obvious that

YOU HATE AMERICA AND HATE FREEDOM AND WANT THE TERRORISTS TO WIN!

Nobody ever spread Freedom but not killing lots of civilans. It’s just what you hace to do if you want an installed democracy favorable to Western Corporations. So quit being so selfish and let’s kill lots of Iranians.

— If you

1:07 pm June 22nd, 2009

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How should the United States deal with protests in Iran?

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