Obama gets an F on handling Ahmadinejad’s re-election
Posted by Silver Ribbon in Canadian Charger on Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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Obama gets an F on handling Ahmadinejad’s re-election
[Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, The Canadian Charger, June 30, 2009]
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No recent election has received as much attention in the Western media as has
Iran’s. The leaders of the U.S., France, U.K, Germany. and Italy have made no
secret of their dislike of the declared results: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was given another four-year term.
Why the fuss, given that the U.S. did not comment on the results of the recent
Lebanese parliamentary elections, in which over a billion dollars was spent to
pay for charter flights and free trips for Lebanese in Canada and other
countries to go home and vote? Besides, irregularities and election security in
every election are common.
We all remember, as should President Barak Obama, the electoral fraud of the
2000 U.S. presidential election. George W. Bush stole the highest position in
the nation, and that led millions of Americans to call for taking back control
of the democratic process, exposing the corruption in election security, and
real election reform. I don't remember Mr. Obama saying a word at that time.
Let us first state some facts about Iran:
1. A cold war against Iran has been going on for some years now, led by the U.S.
and Israel. Helping in that war is a big media propaganda machine fed and
managed by the pro-Israeli lobby in the U.S.
2. Iran has followed the U.S.’s wishes some 80% of the time for the last 10
years-especially in matters related to Iraq, Afghanistan and al-Qa‘ida-but
this does not satisfy Washington.
3. This presidential election is the 11th in the last 30 years.
4. There have been some 30 elections at different levels in the last 30 years.
5. In all elections, over 70% of eligible Iranian voters cast ballots. The ratio
is about the same among the young and women. The ratio in the West is less than
60%.
6. Iran follows a political system according to a constitution that was approved
by the vast majority in 1979.
7. A pre-election poll conducted by The Washington Post showed Ahmadinejad
having a 2:1 lead over his nearest rival. Iranian polls indicated the same.
8. The U.S. was hoping for someone other than Ahmadinejad to deal with over the
next four years, figuring anyone else would be new to the job and therefore a
weaker negotiator.
9. Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president who could identify closely with
the poor.
10. Ahmadinejad managed to maintain the Iranian economy to be ranked the third
in the region after that of Israel and Turkey, despite U.S.-imposed sanctions.
11. In the last four years, Ahmadinejad capably managed policies concerning
nuclear energy, satellite technology, relations with China and Russia,
infrastructure projects and defense.
Now we ask: who among the Iranians is not happy with the declared results and is
demonstrating inside and outside Iran? They belong to one of these groups:
1. Iranians who hate the idea of an Islamic republic, Iranian-style or any other
style.
2. Iranians who imagine that the U.S. would be kinder to their country if
Ahmadinejad were not president.
3. Rich Iranians affected by the social justice policies of Ahmadinejad.
4. Young Iranians who are emulating the West by using modern communication
technology.
5. Political supporters of other Iranian leaders whom Ahmadinejad harshly
criticized during the recent presidential TV debates, such as former President
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, whom Ahmadinejad defeated four years ago.
"The election was free and there is no document proving these charges," said
Ahmadinejad in his first press conference following his re-election. "It is
really ridiculous that the loser of the election claims that majority of the
votes belong to him. This is really absurd."
Ahmadinejad said there was no crisis in the country, and he compared the
protestors to football fans whose team has lost and could not tolerate defeat.
"That is natural; these are short-term emotional reflections," he said, claiming
that freedom in Iran was "almost at a maximum level" and therefore opponents
still have the right to express their standpoints.
Helene Cooper of The New York Times reported that the continuing street
protests in Tehran are emboldening a corpus of conservatives-read pro-Israel
lobby-in Washington to demand that Mr. Obama take "a more visible stance" in
support of the protesters.
Ahmadinejad’s re-election was a test of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy. He got an F.
* Dr Mohamed Elmasry is Professor Emeritus of Computer Engineering, University
of Waterloo; Founder, The Canadian Islamic Congress; and member, editorial
board, The Canadian Charger. He can be reached at elmasry@thecanadiancharger.com
[Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, The Canadian Charger, June 30, 2009]
------------------------------
No recent election has received as much attention in the Western media as has
Iran’s. The leaders of the U.S., France, U.K, Germany. and Italy have made no
secret of their dislike of the declared results: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was given another four-year term.
Why the fuss, given that the U.S. did not comment on the results of the recent
Lebanese parliamentary elections, in which over a billion dollars was spent to
pay for charter flights and free trips for Lebanese in Canada and other
countries to go home and vote? Besides, irregularities and election security in
every election are common.
We all remember, as should President Barak Obama, the electoral fraud of the
2000 U.S. presidential election. George W. Bush stole the highest position in
the nation, and that led millions of Americans to call for taking back control
of the democratic process, exposing the corruption in election security, and
real election reform. I don't remember Mr. Obama saying a word at that time.
Let us first state some facts about Iran:
1. A cold war against Iran has been going on for some years now, led by the U.S.
and Israel. Helping in that war is a big media propaganda machine fed and
managed by the pro-Israeli lobby in the U.S.
2. Iran has followed the U.S.’s wishes some 80% of the time for the last 10
years-especially in matters related to Iraq, Afghanistan and al-Qa‘ida-but
this does not satisfy Washington.
3. This presidential election is the 11th in the last 30 years.
4. There have been some 30 elections at different levels in the last 30 years.
5. In all elections, over 70% of eligible Iranian voters cast ballots. The ratio
is about the same among the young and women. The ratio in the West is less than
60%.
6. Iran follows a political system according to a constitution that was approved
by the vast majority in 1979.
7. A pre-election poll conducted by The Washington Post showed Ahmadinejad
having a 2:1 lead over his nearest rival. Iranian polls indicated the same.
8. The U.S. was hoping for someone other than Ahmadinejad to deal with over the
next four years, figuring anyone else would be new to the job and therefore a
weaker negotiator.
9. Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president who could identify closely with
the poor.
10. Ahmadinejad managed to maintain the Iranian economy to be ranked the third
in the region after that of Israel and Turkey, despite U.S.-imposed sanctions.
11. In the last four years, Ahmadinejad capably managed policies concerning
nuclear energy, satellite technology, relations with China and Russia,
infrastructure projects and defense.
Now we ask: who among the Iranians is not happy with the declared results and is
demonstrating inside and outside Iran? They belong to one of these groups:
1. Iranians who hate the idea of an Islamic republic, Iranian-style or any other
style.
2. Iranians who imagine that the U.S. would be kinder to their country if
Ahmadinejad were not president.
3. Rich Iranians affected by the social justice policies of Ahmadinejad.
4. Young Iranians who are emulating the West by using modern communication
technology.
5. Political supporters of other Iranian leaders whom Ahmadinejad harshly
criticized during the recent presidential TV debates, such as former President
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, whom Ahmadinejad defeated four years ago.
"The election was free and there is no document proving these charges," said
Ahmadinejad in his first press conference following his re-election. "It is
really ridiculous that the loser of the election claims that majority of the
votes belong to him. This is really absurd."
Ahmadinejad said there was no crisis in the country, and he compared the
protestors to football fans whose team has lost and could not tolerate defeat.
"That is natural; these are short-term emotional reflections," he said, claiming
that freedom in Iran was "almost at a maximum level" and therefore opponents
still have the right to express their standpoints.
Helene Cooper of The New York Times reported that the continuing street
protests in Tehran are emboldening a corpus of conservatives-read pro-Israel
lobby-in Washington to demand that Mr. Obama take "a more visible stance" in
support of the protesters.
Ahmadinejad’s re-election was a test of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy. He got an F.
* Dr Mohamed Elmasry is Professor Emeritus of Computer Engineering, University
of Waterloo; Founder, The Canadian Islamic Congress; and member, editorial
board, The Canadian Charger. He can be reached at elmasry@thecanadiancharger.com
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