THE ISSUE: Iran’s elections in the wake of President Obama’s speech in Cairo.
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Ralph Peters has painted a perfect picture of our narcissistic president, who thinks he can deal with Iran and terrorists through charm and soft diplomacy (“The Obama Effect,” PostOpinion, June 16).
It’s no wonder that the thugs who hate the United States love President Obama. He doesn’t give those bad guys much to worry about.
John W. Fox
Galloway, NJ
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Obama, learn from President Reagan: Arm the uprising, and then let freedom fighters take action.
D. Simon
Armonk
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“The Obama Effect” makes no sense. Peters asserts that Obama’s recent speech in Cairo betrayed pro-democratic factions in the Mideast and emboldened America’s enemies, as evidenced by the current situation in Iran.
It’s likelier that his speech emboldened our allies, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of change, leading to the current situation in Iran.
By generating politically divisive rhetoric that does not make sense upon examination, Peters demonstrates why many right-wing commentators have lost the trust of the public and have become increasingly irrelevant as the country attempts to rebuild and move forward.
John Borah
Brooklyn
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In Peters’ opinion, the mullahs feared President George W. Bush and this recent move by Iran’s theocracy was because it sees weakness in Obama.
The history of the last eight years proves just the opposite. Saber-rattling from the Bush administration has done nothing.
Since he included it in “the Axis of Evil,” Iran has thumbed its nose at Bush, from the banning of reform candidates in the 2005 presidential election to the ongoing bluster and threats from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The people of Iran, at least in public, were happy to stand by their leaders against what they saw as a bellicose Bush administration.
Obama has extended a hand to the leaders of Iran and the Iranian people. While the leaders fear it, the people of Iran have reached out to grab it.
Bradley Winters
Manhattan
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Peters’ article slices into the hubris that is Obama like a finely sharpened scalpel.
After all the rhetoric settles, the world remains the same. Hatred and violence grow ever stronger with each Obama revelation.
How can this so-called street kid know absolutely nothing about the street? Taunting your enemy with sanctimonious condemnation will most likely get you a beating.
Unfortunately, those suffering under the weight of Obama’s mouth are innocent residents of countries like North Korea, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
Hubris works well when backed up with strength and not a whimper.
Obama’s response to the Iranian election was that of an empty suit. Oh, how the mullahs are laughing.
Theodore Miraldi
The Bronx
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Obama will deter neither the Iranian mullahs nor al Qaeda from their continued war on the West.
We can all agree that Bush knew how to govern on an international scale. He stared evil in the eye and fought back, neutralizing terrorists and liberating 60 million Afghans and Iraqis from despotic oppression.
Obama can’t seem to find his niche as an international statesman, despite his undergraduate-level utterances. That Europe is leaning right is real change we can believe in.
Lee Anthony Nieves
Charlotte, NC
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As the situation in the Mideast boils, both the Republicans and the Democrats made a huge mistake in not nominating Peters to run for president or giving him a Cabinet position as war adviser.
If they had, America wouldn’t be judged as a cream puff of sweet talk. The pot seethes, regardless of party.
Richard Homer Bucco
Bloomfield, NJ