To what degree can the recent election result in Lebanon and the current events in Iran be attrutible to President Barack Obama?
That question is at the heart of much of the global commentary in regard to the unfolding drama in the streets of Tehran, and as we learn from this article from Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour, Beirut as well.
For L’Orient Le Jour, Issa Goraieb writes in part:
“‘Everything you know about Iran is wrong’ – that was the front page headline of a major American weekly magazine [Newsweek], offering its readers a more realistic and objective perspective of the Persian situation. This edition, published on the eve of the Iranian presidential election, informs that in fact, the Republic of ayatollahs has no predilection for suicide squads, that it is well disposed to negotiation, and that it could well be satisfied, when all is said and done, with a civilian nuclear program rather than a military one. And although it certainly isn’t a democracy, it is also not a monolithic dictatorship, but rather an oligarchy making room for intense debate among the elites in power.
“It’s unclear whether this new perspective will be enough to turn the uncharismatic President Ahmadinejad into the idol of the American people overnight. What is clear, however, is that this view reflects the policy of dialogue and openness established by President Barack Obama. It was with the same spirit, remember, that on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. mainstream media fell in behind George W. Bush to accuse Saddam Hussein of all the evils in creation.”
Editorial By Issa Goraieb
Translated By Alexandra Griffiths
June 13, 2009
Lebanon – L’Orient Le Jour – Home Page (French)
“Everything you know about Iran is wrong” – that was the front page headline of a major American weekly magazine [Newsweek], offering its readers a more realistic and objective perspective of the Persian situation. This edition, published on the eve of the Iranian presidential election, informs that in fact, the Republic of ayatollahs has no predilection for suicide squads, that it is well disposed to negotiation, and that it could well be satisfied, when all is said and done, with a civilian nuclear program rather than a military one. And although it certainly isn’t a democracy, it is also not a monolithic dictatorship, but rather an oligarchy making room for intense debate among the elites in power.
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