Obama’s Engagement Policy with Iran Is Dead. What’s Next?
Barack Obama’s plan to “engage” Iran was, ever since he raised the subject in the presidential campaign, always a foggy and ill-defined notion.
In the first presidential debate John McCain asked, “So let me get this right. We sit down with Ahmadinejad, and he says, ‘We’re going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,’ and we say, ‘No, you’re not’? Oh, please.”
It was never clear what could be achieved by engagement or what magic words Obama might utter that had not been transmitted to the mullahs by our European allies or through other channels for years now.
But in the fog of tear gas and the spray of fire hoses used on peaceful protestors, the Iranian regime has revealed its true nature, for any who were confused. Now even the president must concede: “There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks.”
To paraphrase McCain, “So let me get this right. We sit down with Ahmadinejad, and he says, ‘We’re going to slaughter our own people and maintain our revolutionary Islamic state while continuing to support terrorist groups,’ and we say, ‘No, you’re not’? Oh, please.”
For now the president has thankfully stopped equating Ahmadinejad and Mousavi and ceased to use the honorific title “supreme leader.” He hasn’t suggested lately that we need to “engage more than ever.” But it is uncertain what he intends to do now.
Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar counsels that passivity now would be a mistake. In the Wall Street Journal he analogizes to the Soviet Union, writing that if “there hadn’t been dissidents in the Soviet Union, the Communist regime never would have crumbled. And if the West hadn’t been concerned about their fate, Soviet leaders would have ruthlessly done away with them.” He cautions that the mullahs will not “reward us for silence or inaction” and chides Obama:
Delayed public displays of indignation may be good for internal political consumption. But the consequences of Western inaction have already materialized. Watching videos of innocent Iranians being brutalized, it’s hard to defend silence.
So what will the Obama administration do now that its hopes for a grand bargain with the mullahs is too improbable even for the deal-makers in Foggy Bottom? The administration is not without means to influence the course of events in Iran — and to signal to other advocates of democracy and human rights around the globe that America remains on their side.
Bambi still wants his Carteresque Camp David photo op with him holding hands with the Dinner Jacket and maybe the Gargoyle from Pyongyang (or his son). To that end, he will let the demonstrators twist in the wind.
I think Obama admires the leaders of Iran. He wants that kind of control and power for himself.
Beware The One.
“We will see if Obama pursues any of these proactive measures or, instead, sinks into passivity”
Barack Obama will most assuredly sink into passivity. He subconsciously has contempt for Western values. We allegedly have nothing to offer the rest of the world because of our racist past. Obama is a self-hating American. It is foolish to believe otherwise. There is an old saying among those earning a living as salespeople: it is very difficult to sell something you don’t believe in. Why would one believe that Obama might be an exception?
He’s stubborn and egocentric and only knows how to speak. The real danger is if he decides to side with Iran on eliminating the “settlements” in Israel and just nukes Tel Aviv for the mullahs. Then he would be really, really popular in the Arab world having proven his bonafides.
“Progressives” value process above results. By which I mean, they really don’t care what the outcome is as long as things are “done properly”.
To The One, the only thing that matters is that he is seen to be “negotiating” with Ahmedinejad, so as to appear “sensible” and “reasonable” compared to That Crazy Cowboy Boosh. Also, He believes that continuing to pander to Iran sends a “strong message”… to Israel, specifically the message that his demands on Israel re continuation of the “Peace Process” (there’s that word again) are entirely non-negotiable.
As for his supporters and panderers in the news media, academia, etc., they’re all suffering from severe cognitive dissonance right now, because they cannot criticize Iran’s regime’ due to their own dogmas. After all, did not Saint Jimmy of the Peanut Field bless the Iranian Revolution in 1978? Did not his messenger, Cardinal Young, bestow the mantle of Saint upon its leader? So how can such a perfect, benign, forward-thinking (i.e., America-hating) government be anything but perfect, and therefore why do so many young people (that never-to-be-disregarded demographic) hate it badly enough to take to the streets? (They should be protesting American presence in Iraq, shouldn’t they?)
Iran presents an intractable problem for our “enlightened elite’”. And the only way they can deal with same is to continue doing what their dogma demands.
In the desperate hope that, at some point, pigs will take flight.
clear ether
eon
When are we Americans going to stop assigning attributes to this guy that he doesn’t have and never had?
All of his records have been placed off limits, he did nothing in the senate, no work accomplishments,can’t work without a teleprompter-a complete affirmative action product!
When we finally get our heads out of the clouds and start treating him as he really is, and what his sycophants want him to be, it will be the first step in our recovery.
Any agreement will be a complete sham. In fact I’m predicting that it will be so embarrassing for Obama not to come up with an agreement that he will settle for a sham agreement and the enraptured media won’t call him on it. Liberals will go nuts as Obama proclaims that he has achieved peace in our time.
Obama will be defeated in 2012 because of his destruction of the U. S. economy and the bombs won’t fall in Tel Aviv until 2013. Liberals will then go nuts as the new Republican president decides it’s time for regime change in Iran.
Terry
What will the administration do next? Hmmmm, let’s see… I’ll bet Obama might volunteer to be videotaped while cleaning up Khamenei’s sandals, after the “supreme” turban has stepped onto camel or goat droppings, while claiming that his actions are supposed to show America’s new-found foreign policy “humility” and “acknowledgment of past wrongs.” After that bow to the Saudi bloated-whale-in-chief, it’s hard to think that such an option is off the table…
Well, Hell, The administration will just go along pretending things are the way they want them and not the way they are.
It is not like he wasn’t told this during the campaign but he seems to think that just he can do what has yet to be done with Iran. They are not going to go along with his wishes and will become more dangerous.
I am aware that a lot on the left voted for Obama just about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be very disappointed if either the U.S. or Israel if forces to take real action and remove the threat.
First mistake: assuming that you can engage in rational talks with an irrational opponent. These ayatollahs and mullahs seek but one thing -conversion of the world to Islam and killing those who resist. If you don’t believe that, read their book.
“[Senator] Lieberman explained: We’ve seen that the Iranian regime has tried to deploy new technologies to restrict its people from getting access to information, prevent its people from exercising their freedom of speech..”
On a tangential note, it sure is good that Joltin’ Joe (said with affection) did not pull a Specter (whose poll numbers are in the toilet, by the way). Having this guy (Lieberman) among the Democrats probably does more harm to the leftist-thinking Dems and their causes than if he were a Republican.
obama is a fool. He’s just like lying 24 year old with an IQ of 91 who claims he has a diploma from Johns Hopkins when all he has is a part time job at the local grocery store. obama wants credit for unobtainable results without either the work OR the results.
What will he do now? (as queried in the subhead) Good grief. He’ll do what he always does. Raise taxes. Blame George Bush. Lecture the United States. Find somebody to apologize to. Go for ice cream. Have a cigarette.
His list of “what to do” will never change much. He’s drawing from a very shallow mind for ideas.
7. BillJ:
“When are we Americans going to stop assigning attributes to this guy that he doesn’t have and never had?”
Thank you, BillJ. If I could figure out how to use font size 48 or so here, I would. Thanks for saying it again. The repetitious “pretending” of even conservative columnists as they give him straw man credibility as a take off point for their articles is so frustrating.
It’s like we’re all standing on the edge of “figuring him out” and “now what???” as though it’s not already perfectly plain. It’s like we don’t want to hurt his feelings, so we’re supposed to act surprised at his idiocy.
Absolutely nothing he has done has surprised me, since I believed everything he said about himself (and I was paying attention to what he wasn’t saying or allowing to be said) before he was elected by about 22% of the population of the United States. (Frankly, I’m not sure that % is exactly right–I saw the figure somewhere last week…it may have been 22% of the electorate, taking in account all those who could have voted but didn’t).
President Obama will ignore Iran as he has ignored North Korea given it is out of the press; he will put his finger right back in the wind to decide his next move. He is eager to supplicate to the oppressive Mullahs. The sharks smell the blood in the water while the feckless Obama Administration believes all is well in his fantastic bubble raft of unicorns & rainbows.
Concerning Iran specifically and foreign policy generally Mr. Obama is caught between paralysis and apathy. The apathy comes from the obvious fact that BHO regards foreign affairs as a distraction from his chief goal, the total makeover of government’s relationship to American society. The paralysis comes from his acceptance of the Chomskyan view that the U.S. is an historically oppressive country that has exploited other nationalities much more than helping them. From this standpoint the U.S. is not morally qualified to oppose even the most oppressive foreign regime. The result will be a policy of empty drift cloaked by grandiose speechifying and media connivance.
5. cedarhill:
He only knows how to speak.
~~~~
Only when TOTUS is around. I’ve known 12 year olds who can do a better job speaking extemporaneously.
PRESENT!!!!!
The 0bama ‘legacy’ is going to make Jimmy Carter’s look like a skittles commercial.
There is every indication that Obama wants this regine to succeed. He doesn’t want Akmedinejad to fail. Obama probably doesn’t want to go against a big internet contributor. And Obama obviously thinks,judging by his statements and actions,that the United
States is morally inferior to Iran and has no right to condemn it. Of course not Obama himself,he is morally superior and can condemn all people,places and things,and nations.
Certain people have no problem advocating control of weapons at home. They want law abiding citizens to go through a process (designed to protect society) before acquiring a fire arm. Seems rational. They also see no problem with preventing a convicted felon from having a gun but here’s the disconnect. They are somehow reluctant to say to Iran, even through the UN, that we can but YOU CAN’T have nuclear weapons. Because we do somehow it’s hypocritical not to let them have them. So we send sternly worded condemnations and if the Iranians continue the attempt to acquire them, it’s stop or we’ll let you. These people are seriously insane.
iran is the only country approved by the enviros to run nuclear power plants. very gorewellian
The iranian government is the weakest it’s been in a decade, and leaving iraq means Iran has no leverage over us there… and this means we need to move away from engagement?
Because obviously putting our fingers in our ears and ignoring iran got us so far in the first place?
Republican pundits have the most incoherent foreign policy prescriptions.
I mean we followed a policy that completey handicapped us with regard to iran for 7 years. The invasion of Iraq handed the fate of Iraq to Iran on a platter. Which paralyzed the Bush admin. Iran’s ability to destabilize Iraq meant the Bush admin had to talk tough openly, but privately they had to kiss Ahmadenijad’s ass (who was it that stopped Israel from bombing iran again?). Now we are finally getting to the point where we can exert power over Iran and people seriously think that we should avoid trying diplomacy?
Go back to predicting false election outcomes, Rubin.
Some idiot in Esquire recently spouted the leftist line, that I read but could not fathom, follow or understand, that Ahmadidntgetthejob will be better remaining in place than the “new boss same as the old boss” who we do not know. Probably this is the “talking point” being promoted by Obama only because it lets him off the hook for actually doing anything. Then he can still try to “negotiate” with people who regard him as an inexperienced dork. When our president can’t hide his true nature from third world tyrants anymore than he can hide it from us, well then, need I say more.
But the real question is if the US polling data comes out favoring the Bush Doctrine as the Middle East terrorist warmongers in Teheran, whose own people have already voted them out loudly enough, what is a Democrat president, where the Democrats live by polling data, to do? Other than start acting like a Republican, I have no idea.
That should be the “Bush Doctrine as to the Middle East Terrorist Warmongers in Teheran.” To be clear the “Bush Doctrine” as first enunciated but not then followed, is that anyone who promotes terror or harbors terrorists, e.g. Ahmadidjehad and Khomeini, should be strung up by the neck until dead, like the Iraqis did to the other Hussein. We know the people of Iran are now our willing Allies, so the answer is obvious. Liberate Iran like we liberated three of its neighbors — Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, and financially support multiple others, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Answer seems obvious to me. People demand liberation from criminals who hijacked their sovereignty, it is only right to answer their prayers, particularly where it serves our national interests as well. Except for his confused education, Obama could see this easily enough but confusion reigns in his brain.
What’s next ?
Obama will allow the iranian comrades (comrades in the worldwide fight against American imperialism) to build nukes, that’s what is next.
And that will come between appointing a racist to the Supreme Court and imposing choking taxes on the American economy.
This is no reformist, this is a subversive, he’s undoing America.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Obama is to busy trying to repair the “damage” done to leftist causes in Honduras to give a damn about iran any more…
Maybe you heard about it… where a leftist wanna be dictator tried to cause a coup by overturning their constitution in Honduras and the military and supreme court refused to be rolled over and deposed of this would be tyrant…. THE GALL who do this ppl think they are preventing a “democratically” elected president with a “mandate” and 4% from changing laws as HIS whim. Constitutions are just meaningless “guidelines” no elected official should be required to follow them THEY HAVE THE WILL OF THE PPL ON THEIR SIDE AND A MANDATE NO LESS.
If obama doesn’t fix Honduras quick soon some cracy ppl will believe things such as “The constitution is the HIGHEST LAW of the LAND” or “The constitution MUST BE PROTECTED AT ANY COST”.
Can’t have any crazy talk like that going on in the US no sir that would just ruin obama’s future plans for the ppl.
The lowest for of stupidity is weakness in the face of aggression. What was required was vision and leadership, what the world got instead from Obama was a co-signing on the brutalization of the Iranian people. The United States could have been rid of the terror regime in Iran without us having to fire a shot had Barack Obama displayed the same zeal for giving stirring, eloquent, and grandiose speeches in the cause of human dignity and liberty as he does with giving giving those speeches in the cause of his personal advancement. He has failed his country, he has failed the Iranian people, and he has proven the lie of his promises of Hope and Change.
Meet at the old mill.
We ride at dawn.
Obama’s policy of engagement is not dead. Only now his rhetoric will include what will be an obligatory reference to the demonstrations and the aspirations they express, but these will only be included because even Obama’s allies in the media – noting that Obama failed to be in tune with the media’s excitement about [getting to cover big things and make themselves look important, oops i mean] the democratic surge of anti-regime feeling in Iran – actually started tentatively sort of criticizing him for a change.
Obama’s just a pus-y. Look at how he immediately showed “grave concern” about the Honduran who was going to hold a “Shouldn’t I be president for life?” referendum. And the reports that our US assets had apparently been working against this coup for weeks. Thankfully we failed.
No – Obama is totally cool with the State Department “stability” mantra. Since stability and media-love presently favor the Left, all the better in the mind of this stupid affirmative action dupe.
Pathetic. The Iran policy of engagement will continue with Ahmadinejad and Khamenei until he is forced by bloody insurrection to deal with their replacements. You will see.
Jennifer:
While I appreciate your analysis of Obama’s optimistic and naive approach to foreign policy, I do not believe that he will change his stated approach towards Iran. Although it would be wise given recent events to reconsider a policy of direct diplomacy with an apparently tyrannical Iranian regime, Obama has never been specific when describing his Iranian policy to make him believe that he would actually be changing anything of significance if he continued “talks” with Iran.
Obama’s general approach to extricate himself from difficult real situations is to redefine his policies using different rhetoric, in an attempt to shield himself from political repercussions. One example is the “lie” where he stated that everyone would be able to keep their existing plan with a public option health care option. Later, he went on to clarify that the government would not force individuals into the public option, altough employers might, so indeed it was possible, if not likely, that many people would not be able keep their existing health care plan.
I expect a similar clarification with his Iran policy, except it will not be to clarify a “lie”, its purpose will be to portray his approach in a favorable political light. He will use strawmen to implicitly castigate those who would ignore the reality of having to deal with an Iranian diplomat. In his mind, Obama never committed to a specific approach for talks without preconditions, so he is still free to continue talks because he will specify the diplomat he will talk to now.
One of Obama’s favorite expressions is “do nothing”, and unfortunately, he perceives not talking with Iran as “doing nothing”. Of course, there are other options, but entertaining them would make him feel as if he is not generating the results he desires. Despite Obama’s intentions, it is already clear to many dictators around the World that Obama’s foreign policy does not practically support US interests, and that Obama has not defined the tangible results of his foreign policies. Therefore, they will be willing to engage him, if only to create a farce for their own benefit.
I really get a nice chuckle everytime I read this site. Ha, you guys are all so pathetic. Face it repugs, Obama isn’t going anywhere, and he’s going to be YOUR president for the next eight years. Oh yes, I said YOUR president (unless you choose to live in a dreamworld)for the next eight years. and you can’t do SHIT, because YOU do not matter. and I’m sure not ONE of you can speak a second language or even owns a passport, so your STUCK here! ha. Come on, just pick up that revolver and blow your brains out in front of your kids. why don’t you? In the meantime, I’ll still pop in here once in awhile for my weekly chuckle.
worldmusic:
He’s going to be a one termer. It’s not possible to hide the fact that he got his political start turning tricks for a slumlord and has acted in that regard ever since. And this time the stain will not be on the dress, it’ll be all over his face and yours, but it sounds a lot like you’re kinda into that.
I notice some comparisions between the way Obama handles Honduras compared to Iran. The major difference is the U.S. has diplomatic relations with Honduras. There has not been any diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979. So of course his rhetoric is going to be different.
worldmusic
Try this “J’ai vraiment un bon rire à chaque fois que j’ai lu ce site. Ha, vous êtes tous tellement pathétique. Face it repugs, Obama ne va pas n’importe où, et il va être votre Président pour les huit prochaines années. Oh oui, j’ai dit que votre président (sauf si vous choisissez de vivre dans un Dreamworld) pour les huit prochaines années. et vous ne pouvez pas faire SHIT, parce que vous n’avez pas d’importance. et je ne suis pas convaincu que l’un de vous deux peut s’exprimer dans une langue seconde ou même possède un passeport, de sorte que votre STUCK ici! ha. Allez, juste prendre ce revolver et soufflez votre cerveau à l’avant de vos enfants. pourquoi pas vous? En attendant, je vais encore pop ici de temps en temps pour ma semaine riant.”
You are a fool and a buffoon on top of that, see I know how to call people names also, now I feel better and “Blow it out ton cul
I know, I know he will attack the legitimacy of the Honduran Constitution. What an incomparable socialistic jackass he truly is. And for Colombia first the military base then free trade!! Of course the “I WON” doesn’t meddle in other counries, at least not the dictatorships.
Actually, I think that Obama’s next fantasy will be, “If we can just meet in person and talk things out, I can get all this worked out!”
Maybe he and A’jad can go out for burgers.
Instead of Blow it out ton cul it should have been Soufflez it out ton cul” and added bouffon. Excuse my French but sometime it come in handy.
The President has no chance of negotiating any agreement with Ahmadinejad. First of all the events of recent days show that Ahmadinejad is a puppet of the religious aristocracy; the President would be talking to a pure figurehead. No matter what Ahmadinejad put his name to, the document would be worthless. The religious aristocracy need only declare it to be against the will of God. Whatever concessions the President made to secure agreement would be seized upon by those who hold the real strings of power; whatever concessions Ahmadinejad made would be worthless. The President is naive. He is putting the people of the United States at grave risk to satisfy what appears to his vanity.
34.worldmusic
“Come on, just pick up that revolver and blow your brains out in front of your kids”
Predictably, the left proposes death for their opponents. (Kind of like Iran?)
Whoopy! Obama’s fast on Honduras, since he got criticized so potently on Iran. Are we impressed, or what?
Most likely: he’ll wait for all this to blow over, so to speak, and attempt a rapprochement with the regime. There will be no sanctions, no monetary or any other kind of aid to the freedom fighters. No support for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. Just inaction until it’s judged enough time has passed. Hope I’m wrong.
It’s pretty obvious from the thunderous silence coming from the WH that Obambi has absolutely no idea what to do next about, with or to Iran. So he is looking around for the next good crisis to try and distract the slobbering, drooling boot heel licking acolytes, the print media and the tv talking airheads from wondering about Iran as well. The very timely death of M. Jackson has helped some (as a distraction)as has the political unrest in Honduras. However at some point the Iranian piper is going to have to be paid. What can the Obambi say? As always he’ll find a way to vote “present” so that he doesn’t have to take a stand. The people of Iran are, or perhaps were, looking to the United States for at least moral support in the same way that the people of Iraq looked for President Bush who then gave them moral support and much more. Obambi is no President Bush. Obambi is a miserable coward.
I personally salivate over the idea that the US is going to bomb the living shit out of Iran. The idea that the US isn’t going to continue its wars of aggression in the Middle East now that the Reublicans are out of power scares me to death.
Like nearly everyone, I know that the Iraq war has gone so well. I am indifferent to the untold death and massive suffering endured by millions of Iraqis caused by the US invasion of that country. After all, I didn’t know any of the Iraqis concerned and I hardly saw in the media any pictures of the death and destruction the US caused there. This makes it easy for me to put out of my mind the consequences of war for innocent civilians. So when I say I look forward to war against Iran, I don’t think about the thousands upon thousands of civilians who will die painful, bloody deaths. All I am thinking about is the US kicking some Middle Eastern ass which will make me feel special while I sit at my computer cheering.
Silly # 46 Fred thinks he’s writing a message to discredit all the conservative posters on this blog . Instead what he is doing is exposing the sublime stupidity of ‘neolibs’ who think they KNOW how the right thinks. Oh and just maybe this buffoon thinks his post will “expose” PJM as a ‘neocon’ entity. Well I told you ‘libtards’ were stupid.
fred: hope you don’t get electrocuted by an errant power surge. well i worry about my sons getting nuked by dinner jacket because of the fallout. an regime change would be a good thing. the war has been costly to our GI’s over there.
I don’t think about the thousands upon thousands of civilians who will die painful, bloody deaths.
that Iranian mullahs are handing out to their own. how chivalrous you are FreD:
How chilling that obama’s anger against what happened in Honduras is far more immediate and palpable than what has been happening in Iran.
He didn’t have to wait 7 days to work up the appropriate phrases for the media. He was locked and loaded for his Chavez/Castro group hug.
….far more immediate and palpable than his slowly-developed comments regarding what has been happening in Iran…..
why doesn’t PJM have edit function?
Perhaps they will reinstate someone like Saddam Hussein in Iraq…Now that “Misson Accomplished”…An African Obama is President.
My guess is that he’ll push Congress to include Iran in his health care reform scheme.
53. Genghis Kohn…Goodness, I would imagine. Who exactly do we think we are to just go broke over providing gargantuan medical bureaucracies treating few people just for ourselves. Surely the Iranians should be included in the largess.
Last week, a writer familiar with African politics said that she can easily identify in obama’s manners, politics and policies the characteristics typical of the neo-colonial African Colonels (thugs) who came to power in the 70′s and 80′s, sucking all the resources and finances out of the newly-independent African nations. That explains alot and matches the facts.
So. Col. Obama it is.
Obama is a strange guy and hence we get strange policy. During the campaign it took him three days to speak out against the Russians invasion of Georgia. During the Iran election uprising he was essentially silent then stepped up to be cautious at best. He has stiff-armed Israel. He bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. He has dissed the Honduran people, arguably in favor of the rule of law. Yet, he has our warships tracking NK’s boat and, presumably, authorized a launch of a minute-man missle from California in the general direction of the Korean peninsula. My only read is that Bob Gates told Obama what he has to do on NK and that’s it, whereas on all the other fronts he was trusting his own instincts and those of his sychophants. Pretty pathetic – a president without a backbone
37, 40 Steve
well, at least you did not use Le Mot de Corbot; you know, the one which caused Toyota to rebadge the French version of the MR2 sports car.
Tais ta sale guele would do it, or maybe just taise, mechante (Cajun), since he so clearly is.
Many people in the Middle East were telling Americans that all Muslims want Islamic government. That’s what Egyptians, Saudis, Qataris, Pakistanis and of course al Jazeera told westerners. They were claiming that all the bad things have beginning and end in the US and that democracy is non-muslim, western idea alien to muslims.
The showcase of Islamic rule,was Islamic Iran. Its president, according to many in the ME, was a prime example of Muslim ruler. He was pious. He was good Muslim. He ruled according to sharia. He helped Hamas and Hizbullah. He claimed that America is bad and demokracy is alien to Islam. He told everybody that Iran would get atomic bomb which it will use against zionist entity (aka Israel).
And of course many Americans believed this stuff.
Now comes elections. Falsified elections. And all these drivel spew by al Jazeera & Co., is not convincing any more.
Iranians do not want democracy – wrong
Iranians look at Ahmadinejad as an example of a good ruler – wrong
Iranians love Islamic government – wrong
Iranians want to bomb Israel – wrong
Iranians hate Americans and westerners overall – wrong.
So people are confused, Middle Easterners are confused, some Europeans and Americans are confused, Obama is confused. All their cherished truths suddenly became moot.
You know what I think?
Many people when they have traumatic experience just freeze and do nothing. I think Obama is in shock – so many cherished truths are dead – and that is THE explanation why he can’t decide to do anything regarding Iran.