Obama wishes Iran a happy Nowruz

[EricMM]

 

I think it's a good thing, me.

[Swindle]

Nothing wrong with trying to reach the people of Iran, but its the government that we have to deal with at the end of the day. Bottom line, they are still going forward with their Nuclear Program.

[At Home]

That's not true. It's the people that elected their government specifically on an anti-American platform. Obama's doing the right thing in trying to turn public opinion. Iran should be our ally in the Middle East, not our enemy: they have just as much at stake in a democratic Iraq as we do.

[SuperJerk]

But we all know that the elected government in Iran isn't calling all the shots.

[Jobber of the Week]

I think it's a good thing, me.

"Traditionally, the U.S. president and secretary of state release statements for Nowruz." --USA TODAY

 

Iran's leaders responded with a "bah humbug", but it probably didn't help that Israel tried the same tactic.

[Art Sandusky]

All I know is that Bush never offered a single Arabic phrase of good will (to my knowledge), so this is a step in the right direction. Words of leaders in Iran don't necessarily reflect the thoughts of their populace. It's a long slog, but this goes a loooong way towards the "winning the hearts and minds" ideal. That is what will truly fix the Iranian situation.

 

... unless he mispronounced something and said that everyone's mother was a pig. That might be bad.

[Nightwing]

That's not true. It's the people that elected their government specifically on an anti-American platform. Obama's doing the right thing in trying to turn public opinion. Iran should be our ally in the Middle East, not our enemy: they have just as much at stake in a democratic Iraq as we do.

That's a misnomer. The Iranian liberal movement protested the election because they thought it was essentially rigged and unfair. I wouldn't exactly say it was a real election by any stretch.

[Hitler Cubano]

NOW(ruz), that's what I call diplomacy!

[At Home]

That's not true. It's the people that elected their government specifically on an anti-American platform. Obama's doing the right thing in trying to turn public opinion. Iran should be our ally in the Middle East, not our enemy: they have just as much at stake in a democratic Iraq as we do.

That's a misnomer. The Iranian liberal movement protested the election because they thought it was essentially rigged and unfair. I wouldn't exactly say it was a real election by any stretch.

 

You may be right, Iranian politics is nowhere near my specialty, but I don't think it takes a political scientist to see that the party in charge has capitalized off of anti-Americanism, right?

[Big Ol' Smitty]

Nightwing is right. Although I've heard that the first round was pretty legit--it was Ahmadinejad's runoff (I think against Rafsanjani) that was pretty smelly.