John McCain is a temporal anchor on American politics, and he’s dragging the rest of us back in time to the Vietnam era when black & white militaristic thinking got us bogged down in an unwinnable war. Oh, wait. I think I’m confusing him with the present day incarnation of John McCain who helped get us bogged down in Iraq. Perhaps, John McCain is Dr. Who, and enjoys sticking his big nose in other people’s business because he has a god complex. Ever since the US presidential election, I have to admit I can’t recognize the real John McCain. For example, does he support nation building or not?
Yes, why don’t we publicly take sides in Iran and further fan the flames of Islamic extremists? Then all we’ll need is a fatheaded congressman suggesting we send a team of advisers to Iran to help the protesters liberate the country. Apparently, someone in the US State Department already made a play and requested that Twitter delay its site maintenance so the Iranian people could still communicate their protest strategy.
I long for the day when politicians will sit twiddling their thumbs, not thinking about how to spread democracy around the world. Aren’t their domestic plates full enough?
Let’s gain some wisdom from the story of an ancient Roman politician named Cinna in his campaign for power:
They contributed money and military forces, and he was joined by many more people, including some of those who were influential at Rome, who found political stability not to their taste.
From The Civil Wars by Appian
Does an old, war dog like John McCain live for peace or conflict? I wonder.
3 Comments
June 19, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I agree with asking Twitter to delay its scheduled maintainence. However, I think it should have been framed as a Freedom Of The Press issue. In other words, condemn the Iranian government for suppressing news and media, then encourage Twitter to delay maintainence to promote citizen reporting–all under the guise of “neutrality”.
June 19, 2009 at 4:39 pm
One of the major problems with America’s foreign policy is its lack of subtlety. I’m not against a small amount of covert help for the Iranian people (allowing them a voice on the net), but making it so public hurts both of our causes. Iran’s leaders may just crack down that much harder for our interference. No one likes to lose face in the international press.
July 3, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I agree, America’s foreign policy is brash.
It should only be fair to give Iran a voice in this situation, but there could be a threat to the fears of the public.
Of course Iran wouldn’t want to lose face, they don’t want to look weak when America’s army is just around the corner.