Obama vs. Iran--And The Rest Of The Middle East

From an email from DG:

Obama vs. Iran

In its Week in Review the NYT this weekend reported: The Larger Game in the Middle East: Iran, finally acknowledging that Iran is the big story not being discussed, but not to worry, the Obama administration is well aware of that.

Last week, the decisions being made at the White House were about how firmly to back the protesters being shot in the streets in Syria and Yemen, or being beaten in Bahrain. For each of those, White House aides were performing a mostly silent calculation about whether the Iranians would benefit, or at least feel more breathing room. 

I feel better already.

But then I read about the administration's approach to Syria.

For years the United States has tried in vain to peel Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, away from Iran and to reconcile with Israel. It fears that if his government collapses, chaos will reign, making Syria unpredictable as well as dangerous. It’s a reasonable fear. But in recent weeks the White House has concluded that it has much less to lose than the Iranians do if Mr. Assad is swept away. And, as some in Mr. Obama’s war council have noted, if protesters succeed in Syria, Iran could be next. 

I don't care what the President's advisers have "concluded," but how has the administration put this into practice? By tweeting from Syria? By calling Assad a "reformer?"

Anyway if Iran enters the administration's calculations the latest from the Times makes that doubtful.

The United States, which long supported Yemen’s president, even in the face of recent widespread protests, has now quietly shifted positions and has concluded that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms and must be eased out of office, according to American and Yemeni officials.  

The Obama administration had maintained its support of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in private and refrained from directly criticizing him in public, even as his supporters fired on peaceful demonstrators, because he was considered a critical ally in fighting the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda. This position has fueled criticism of the United States in some quarters for hypocrisy for rushing to oust a repressive autocrat in Libya but not in strategic allies like Yemen and Bahrain. 

Apparently charges of hypocrisy are what motivates the administration. Just like in Egypt. But we needn't fear because there's room for Islam in Egypt as Egypt's Grand Mufti writes in In Egypt’s Democracy, Room for Islam

My fear was actually for other religions under Mubarak's successor regime. But actually what Imam Gomaa is arguing is this:

Egypt’s religious tradition is anchored in a moderate, tolerant view of Islam. We believe that Islamic law guarantees freedom of conscience and expression (within the bounds of common decency) and equal rights for women. And as head of Egypt’s agency of Islamic jurisprudence, I can assure you that the religious establishment is committed to the belief that government must be based on popular sovereignty.  

While religion cannot be completely separated from politics, we can ensure that it is not abused for political gain. 

Of course not, that's never happened before.

And Imam Gomaa comes back to that formulation we've seen so much (emphasis mine)

Islamists must understand that, in a country with such diverse movements as the Muslim Brotherhood; the Wasat party, which offers a progressive interpretation of Islam; and the conservative Salafi movements, no one group speaks for Islam.  

At the same time, we should not be afraid that such groups in politics will do away with our newfound freedoms. Indeed, democracy will put Islamist movements to the test; they must now put forward programs and a political message that appeal to the Egyptian mainstream. Any drift toward radicalism will not only run contrary to the law, but will also guarantee their political marginalization. 

Why am I not reassured?

Technorati Tag: Iran and Middle East and Obama.