Obama applauds Iran's citizen reporters.

[jefferson_dem]

Obama applauds Iran's citizen reporters.

From his speech at tonight's Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner:

I am here tonight because I appreciate all of the work that you do and the role that you play. You report the news as it happens and you cover history as it is made, with a hand-held camera or a microphone. You bring the truth to people and allow people to bring truth to the world. We are seeing that now as history is unfolding in the sounds and images of broadcasts from Iran over the last week. We have seen professional and citizen journalists act as a voice for those who want to be heard, bearing witness to the universal aspirations of democracy and freedom, often at great risk and sometimes with great sacrifice. They do it because the rest of us need to hear the stories that they tell.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. Good for him.

I'm glad he's speaking to the social movement...Not wanting to be seen as interfering in their election (given history) doesn't mean he has to be silent about so many people fighting for change.

[FrenchieCat]

3. He has been doing this since the election, and has not been silent.....

Only the Pugs keep forgetting that, cause it is convenient for them to believe such!

June 16th -
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Obviously all of us have been watching the news from Iran. And I want to start off by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be; that we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, which sometimes the United States can be a handy political football — or discussions with the United States.

Having said all that, I am deeply troubled by the violence that I’ve been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process — free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent — all those are universal values and need to be respected. And whenever I see violence perpetrated on people who are peacefully dissenting, and whenever the American people see that, I think they’re, rightfully, troubled.

My understanding is, is that the Iranian government says that they are going to look into irregularities that have taken place. We weren’t on the ground, we did not have observers there, we did not have international observers on hand, so I can’t state definitively one way or another what happened with respect to the election. But what I can say is that there appears to be a sense on the part of people who were so hopeful and so engaged and so committed to democracy who now feel betrayed. And I think it’s important that, moving forward, whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing their views.
snip
And particularly to the youth of Iran, I want them to know that we in the United States do not want to make any decisions for the Iranians, but we do believe that the Iranian people and their voices should be heard and respected.
http://www.progresspolitics.com/2009/06/16/president-obama-regarding-iran-election-situation-video-transcript/


Obama's Iran Statement: "The World is Watching"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/15/742866/-Obamas-Iran-Statement:-The-World-is-Watching-w-transcript-and-poll

June 19th
Obama: Iran Protestors "Seeking Justice"
Well, first of all, let's understand that this notion that somehow these hundreds of thousands of people who are pouring into the streets in Iran are somehow responding to the West or the United States. that's an old distraction that I think has been trotted out periodically. And that's just not gonna fly.

What you're seeing in Iran are hundreds of thousands of people who believe their voices were not heard and who are peacefully protesting and - and seeking justice. And the world is watching. And we stand behind those who are seeking justice in a peaceful way. And, you know, already we've seen violence out there. I think I've said this throughout the week. I want to repeat it that we stand with those who would look to peaceful resolution of conflict, and we believe that the voices of people have to be heard, that that's a universal value that the American people stand for and this administration stands for.

And I'm very concerned based on some of the tenor and tone of the statements that have been made that the government of Iran recognize that the world is watching. And how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard will, I think, send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is - and is not.

But the last point I want to make on this - this is not an issue of the United States or the West versus Iran. This is an issue of the Iranian people. The fact that they are on the streets under pretty severe duress, at great risk to themselves, is a sign that there's something in that society that wants to open up.

And, you know, we respect Iran's sovereignty. And we respect the fact that ultimately the Iranian people have to make these decisions. But I hope that the world understands that this is not something that has to do with the outside world. This has to do with what's happening in Iran. And, I think ultimately the Iranian people, will obtain justice.
...
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. That's what they do. That's what we've already seen. We shouldn't be playing into that. There should be no distractions from the fact that the Iranian people are seeking to let their voices be heard.

Now, what we can do is bear witness and say to the world that the, you know, incredible demonstrations that we've seen is a testimony to, I think what Dr. King called the the arc of the moral universe. It's long but it bends towards justice.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/19/eveningnews/main5099083.shtml

and let us not forget....
Obama Team Asked Twitter To Wait On Site Maintenance
http://donklephant.com/2009/06/16/obama-team-asked-twitter-to-wait-on-site-maintenance/

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. Yeah, the republican definition of Obama's silence is "Did not declare war on Iran yet"

What I'm talking about his ability to speak to Iran about the social movement in a direct way. Obviously Achmedinajad has won and was going to win, but Obama should reference the desire of the youth to move forward as a global thing, and expect more progress.

[LooseWilly]

6. ? Obviously Ahmadi nejad was going to win?

It wasn't obvious to the protestors (well, except for the cynical ones who expected vote rigging).
"Obama should reference the desire of the youth to move forward as a global thing, and expect more progress" What does that mean in terms of the Iranian election? "global thing"? "expect more progress"?.... I'm having a hard time even projecting meanings for these things? And I choose not to assume you mean the most obvious and trite of things that I might extrapolate from these statements... so I guess some more detail would be interesting... potentially.

[napoleon_in_rags]

8. Relax! :)

Obviously Ahmadi nejad was going to win?

The conflict between peaceful protesters and the state apparatus, is what I was talking about. He's going to "win" that. He has. The question is what now. Does Mousavi force a bigger conflict? Does it remain in a boiling state for awhile? Is some kind of internal resolution still possible?

of the youth to move forward as a global thing, and expect more progress

What I'm suggesting is that the revolution in Iran is bigger than Iran, and Obama should address that. I see that as a way of using Iran's youth to remove the nation from isolation, engage them with the rest of the world, the future of the rest of the world. We should all be able to identify with the Iranian protesters, as fighting for a mutual future for all of us, not just something that's bottled up in Iran. Its about future vs. past.

And that's what I mean with "expect more progress". Obama should exect forward motion from Iran regardless, because the energy is clearly there, the desire to move beyond the old into a new century. And its a good thing.

Happy? :)

Edit: And now you got me thinking - that I should be more verbose among other things - but anyway, I see it like this: Iranian people are just like you and me. They want to be with family, work decent jobs, listen to their Ipods whatever. But there's this burden, this weight, all of it coming from the past, politics etc. Like if you or me were in their shoes, imagine it: We live next to this nuclear armed country (Israel) which is defined by the holocaust, and we have a history of low grade conflict with it. Our leader is this bozo who decides to deny the holocaust, while simultaeously threatening their existence via pursuing nukes, a threat which this nation is VERY alive to given history. So we see our country on this collision course, this train wreck. But at the same time, there is this counter force, coming from the past (somebody in the family was a Palestinian who got killed, or my religion says or history says)...And its weighing them to play the same roles they have played for a long time.

In that situation we would want an honorable, respectful way just to leave the bullshit behind and just move forward. To discard the whole past. What I'm imagining is that if I had this option to join a movement...not just of Iranian youth, but of Israeli youth, American youth, Egyptian youth, people who just wanted to leave the past behind. To move forward. An option to push the reset button and get on with what we like in life, it would seem very appealing. And youth alone can do it, youth alone will the old yield to, it is natural.

So that's the heart of what I'm talking about. Moving forward together and throwing isolating identities of the past behind us. :)

[Cha]

2. How important to

recognize that..thanks Pres Obama.

[fujiyama]

5. Obama is handling this right

It's very tempting and easy to give way to your emotions like a hot headed McCain, but this is EXACTLY the kind of situation where his temperament would not at all be welcome.

Obama is praising the student movement, those who seek greater freedom, and the citizen reporters. The election itself is not for us to decide and interfering will only hurt those seeking justice in Iran.

[LooseWilly]

7. Cheers for the sane and sensible analyses!

Obama is indeed... in my opinion... right on the money here. Any and all other criticism aside.... Obama has done a wonderful job on foreign affairs in my opinion... :applause:

[TomCADem]

9. I Am Relieved He Did Not Engage In Chicken Hawk Empty War Rhetoric

The Republicans would, of course, probably make some melodramatic declaration of support of the protesters PRIOR TO THE ELECTION, then complain about fraud, before results are announced, then call for violent over throw of the government, then after engaging in a belligerant shouting match full of threats of military action, do nothing and say nothing, as Iran then arrested the "US sympathizers." Now, it is clear that President Obama is condemning Iran's attacks on its own people, rather than directly meddling in Iran's internal affairs. Of course, Vice President Cheney would probably be calling for a bombing strike during the entire episode.