Responding to Iran: Compare and contrast

We’ll return to domestic policy analysis later today, but let’s take a look at the immediate response from the two campaigns regarding Iran’s test firing of long range missiles last night. First up, the McCain response.

“Iran’s most recent missile tests demonstrate again the dangers it poses to its neighbors and to the wider region, especially Israel. Ballistic missile testing coupled with Iran’s continued refusal to cease its nuclear activities should unite the international community in efforts to counter Iran’s dangerous ambitions.

Iran’s missile tests also demonstrate the need for effective missile defense now and in the future, and this includes missile defense in Europe as is planned with the Czech Republic and Poland. Working with our European and regional allies is the best way to meet the threat posed by Iran, not unilateral concessions that undermine multilateral diplomacy.”

And now the Obama response:

“There’s no doubt we’re seeing rising tensions in the area, and it’s part of the reason why it’s so important for us to have a coherent policy with respect to Iran. It has to combine much tougher threats of economic sanctions with direct diplomacy, opening up channels of communication so that we avoid provocation but we give strong incentives for the Iranians to change their behavior. We’ve got to have the kind of aggressive diplomacy that unfortunately has been absent over the last several years.”

Obama comes straight out of the gate with a call for more “agressive diplomacy” which should remind us that we are currently seeing some very hopeful signs of progress with North Korea after international pressure and diplomacy were brought to bear over a long period of time. Senator McCain’s response carries the usual derogatory “concessions” comments, implying that diplomacy and negotiations are the weak sister approach. He also immediately swings to the missile defense system, implying a military solution to the problem. What he fails to mention is that Russia has already threatened to blow up any missile defense installation placed with the Czechs. When you combine that sort of reckless saber rattling, consequences be damned, with McCain’s rather easy tendency to make jokes about killing Iranians, or just bombing them, and you have enough to greatly concern me when it comes to matters of foreign policy.

On a related note, here is a separate question for you to consider. Why is it that when Israel conducts war games, flying jets in a clear path to demonstrate their readiness to conduct a first strike attack on Iran, they are “defending their rights,” but if Iran conducts such games and tests of military hardware, they are “threatening the region” and everyone is screaming at them to stop? Where is the criticism of Israel for ratcheting up the tension levels in the region?