Obama har set videoen af Neda

Næsten halvdelen af præsident Obamas pressekonference i dag handlede om den kritiske situation i dag. Jeg vedlægger alle udsnit - først hans indledende bemærkninger, dernæst spørgsmål og svar.

Jeg bider mig fast i et par ting.

Obama anvender en noget hårdere retorik end tidligere over for regimet i Teheran og vold udøvet mod fredelige demonstranter. Men han nægter at specificere, hvad USA agter at gøre, dersom valgresultatet bliver stående og styret fortsætter sin repressive politik - inklusiv fornægtelse af ytringsfrihed og forsamlingsfrihed.

Hans pointe er, at en advarsel om konsekvenserne for Irans internationale statur ville havde den modsatrettede virkning. Forståeligt. Obama understreger endvidere, at det må være op til civile iranere selv at bringe regimet til fald.

Men hvordan dette skal ske, når enhver demonstration bliver slået hårdt ned og folk risikerer livet ved at gå ud på gaderne og flere og flere iranere udsættes for statslige propaganda i mangel af alternative nyhedskilder forklarer USA’s præsident ikke.

Som jeg før har fremhævet, ligger Obama fast på en nyrealistisk udenrigspolitik, hvor det primære for ham er USA’s interesse i at stoppe Iran i udviklingen af en atombombe. Jo, Obama siger, at han ikke vil foregribe, hvordan USA’s vil håndtere Iran, førend den politiske krise er afklaret. Men det må være åbenlyst for os alle, at Obamas ønskede dialog med et Iran under de kompromitterede skikkelser Ahmadinejad og Khamenei simpelthen ikke er en realistisk tilgang. Begge ledere vil have mistet deres legitimitet internt og internationalt, hvis deres repressive politik fortsætter. For mig at se bliver det herefter langt sævrere at have tiltro til aftaler med Iran om atompolitik og andet.

Det bliver Obama nødt til at anerkende. Så jeg har stadig min tvivl om, hvorvidt hans linje er den helt rigtige, omend han heldigvis har lukket op for en barskere kritik.

Tilsidst: Det er lidt rystende at opleve, at Obama simpelthen ikke magter at mobilisere følelser til at beskrive sin reaktion på videofilmen af den døende iranske kvinde. For en der har fulgt ham i lang tid er det nok ikke så overraskende. Han er utrolig cool, og det er selvfølgelig et vigtigt karaktertræk for en præsident. På den anden side er der også øjeblikke, hvor en præsident skal kunne udtrykke det chok, som amerikanere og andre mennesker hele verden over føler efter at have set den video. Hvorfor gør han ikke det?

PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE PRESIDENT
 
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
 
12:30 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Today, I want to start by addressing three issues, and then I’ll take your questions.
   
     First, I’d like to say a few words about the situation in Iran.  The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days.  I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.
 
     I’ve made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering with Iran’s affairs.  But we must also bear witness to the courage and the dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society.  And we deplore the violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place.
 
     The Iranian people are trying to have a debate about their future.  Some in Iran — some in the Iranian government, in particular, are trying to avoid that debate by accusing the United States and others in the West of instigating protests over the election.  These accusations are patently false.  They’re an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders.  This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won’t work anymore in Iran.  This is not about the United States or the West; this is about the people of Iran, and the future that they — and only they — will choose.
 
     The Iranian people can speak for themselves.  That’s precisely what’s happened in the last few days.  In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests [sic] of justice.  Despite the Iranian government’s efforts to expel journalists and isolate itself, powerful images and poignant words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we’ve watched what the Iranian people are doing.
 
     This is what we’ve witnessed.  We’ve seen the timeless dignity of tens of thousands of Iranians marching in silence.  We’ve seen people of all ages risk everything to insist that their votes are counted and that their voices are heard.  Above all, we’ve seen courageous women stand up to the brutality and threats, and we’ve experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets.  While this loss is raw and extraordinarily painful, we also know this:  Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.
 
     As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away.  The Iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech.  If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights and heed the will of its own people.  It must govern through consent and not coercion.  That’s what Iran’s own people are calling for, and the Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government.

 

     Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Your administration has said that the offer to talk to Iran’s leaders remains open.  Can you say if that’s still so, even with all the violence that has been committed by the government against the peaceful protesters?  And if it is, is there any red line that your administration won’t cross where that offer will be shut off?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, obviously what’s happened in Iran is profound.  And we’re still waiting to see how it plays itself out.  My position coming into this office has been that the United States has core national security interests in making sure that Iran doesn’t possess a nuclear weapon and it stops exporting terrorism outside of its borders.
 
     We have provided a path whereby Iran can reach out to the international community, engage, and become a part of international norms.  It is up to them to make a decision as to whether they choose that path.  What we’ve been seeing over the last several days, the last couple of weeks, obviously is not encouraging, in terms of the path that this regime may choose to take.  And the fact that they are now in the midst of an extraordinary debate taking place in Iran may end up coloring how they respond to the international community as a whole.
 
     We are going to monitor and see how this plays itself out before we make any judgments about how we proceed.  But just to reiterate, there is a path available to Iran in which their sovereignty is respected, their traditions, their culture, their faith is respected, but one in which they are part of a larger community that has responsibilities and operates according to norms and international rules that are universal.  We don’t know how they’re going to respond yet, and that’s what we’re waiting to see.
 
     Q    So should there be consequences for what’s happened so far?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I think that the international community is, as I said before, bearing witness to what’s taking place.  And the Iranian government should understand that how they handle the dissent within their own country, generated indigenously, internally, from the Iranian people, will help shape the tone not only for Iran’s future but also its relationship to other countries.
 
     Since we’re on Iran, I know Nico Pitney is here from Huffington Post.
 
     Q    Thank you, Mr. President.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Nico, I know that you, and all across the Internet, we’ve been seeing a lot of reports coming directly out of Iran.  I know that there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet.  Do you have a question?
 
     Q    Yes, I did, I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian.  We solicited questions last night from people who are still courageous enough to be communicating online, and one of them wanted to ask you this:  Under which conditions would you accept the election of Ahmadinejad?  And if you do accept it without any significant changes in the conditions there, isn’t that a betrayal of what the demonstrators there are working towards?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, look, we didn’t have international observers on the ground.  We can’t say definitively what exactly happened at polling places throughout the country.  What we know is that a sizeable percentage of the Iranian people themselves, spanning Iranian society, consider this election illegitimate.  It’s not an isolated instance — a little grumbling here or there.  There is significant questions about the legitimacy of the election.
 
And so ultimately the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people, not in the eyes of the United States.  And that’s why I’ve been very clear:  Ultimately, this is up to the Iranian people to decide who their leadership is going to be and the structure of their government.
 
What we can do is to say unequivocally that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence, about dealing with peaceful dissent, that spans cultures, spans borders.  And what we’ve been seeing over the Internet and what we’ve been seeing in news reports violates those norms and violates those principles.
 
I think it is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people.  We hope they take it.
  

  Q    Right here, sir.  In your opening remarks, sir, you were — you said about Iran that you were appalled and outraged.  What took you so long to say those words?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t think that’s accurate.  Track what I’ve been saying.  Right after the election, I said that we had profound concerns about the nature of the election, but that it was not up to us to determine what the outcome was.  As soon as violence broke out — in fact, in anticipation of potential violence — we were very clear in saying that violence was unacceptable, that that was not how governments operate with respect to their people.
 
     So we’ve been entirely consistent, Major, in terms of how we’ve approached this.  My role has been to say the United States is not going to be a foil for the Iranian government to try to blame what’s happening on the streets of Tehran on the CIA or on the White House; that this is an issue that is led by and given voice to the frustrations of the Iranian people.  And so we’ve been very consistent the first day, and we’re going to continue to be consistent in saying this is not an issue about the United States; this is about an issue of the Iranian people.
 
     What we’ve also been consistent about is saying that there are some universal principles, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, making sure that governments are not using coercion and violence and repression in terms of how they interact with peaceful demonstrators.  And we have been speaking out very clearly about that fact.  
 
Q    Are Iranian diplomats still welcome at the embassy on the Fourth of July, sir?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think as you’re aware, Major, we don’t have formal diplomatic relations with — we don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Iran.  I think that we have said that if Iran chooses a path that abides by international norms and principles, then we are interested in healing some of the wounds of 30 years, in terms of U.S.-Iranian relations.  But that is a choice that the Iranians are going to have to make.
 
Q    But the offer still stands?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  That’s a choice the Iranians are going to have to make.
  

   Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Following up on Major’s question, some republicans on Capitol Hill — John McCain and Lindsey Graham, for example — have said that up to this point, your response on Iran has been timid and weak.  Today, it sounded a lot stronger.  It sounded like the kind of speech John McCain has been urging you to give, saying that those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history, referring to an iron fist in Iran — "deplore," "appalled," "outraged."  Were you influenced at all by John McCain and Lindsey Graham accusing you of being timid and weak?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  What do you think?  (Laughter.)  Look, the — I think John McCain has genuine passion about many of these international issues, and I think that all of us share a belief that we want justice to prevail.  But only I’m the President of the United States, and I’ve got responsibilities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries.
 
I mean, you guys must have seen the reports.  They’ve got some of the comments that I’ve made being mistranslated in Iran, suggesting that I’m telling rioters to go out and riot some more.  There are reports suggesting that the CIA is behind all this — all of which are patently false.  But it gives you a sense of the narrative that the Iranian government would love to play into.  So the — members of Congress, they’ve got their constitutional duties, and I’m sure they will carry them out in the way that they think is appropriate.  I’m President of the United States, and I’ll carry out my duties as I think are appropriate.  All right?
 
     Q    By speaking so strongly today, aren’t you giving the leadership in Iran the fodder to make those arguments that it is about the United States?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Look, I mean, I think that — we can parse this as much as we want.  I think if you look at the statements that I’ve made, they’ve been very consistent.  I just made a statement on Saturday in which we said we deplore the violence.  And so I think that in the hothouse of Washington, there may be all kinds of stuff going back and forth in terms of Republican critics versus the administration.  That’s not what is relevant to the Iranian people.  What’s relevant to them right now is, are they going to have their voices heard?
 
     And, frankly, a lot of them aren’t paying a lot of attention to what’s being said on Capitol Hill, and probably aren’t spending a lot of time thinking about what’s being said here.  They’re trying to figure out how can they make sure justice is served in Iran.
 
     Q    So there’s no news in your statement today?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Chuck Todd.
 
     Q    Mr. President, I want to follow up on Iran.  You have avoided twice spelling out consequences.  You’ve hinted that there would be, from the international community, if they continue to violate — you said violate these norms.  You seem to hint that there are human rights violations taking place.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I’m not hinting.  I think that when a young woman gets shot on the street when she gets out of her car, that’s a problem.
 
     Q    Then why won’t you spell out the consequences that the Iranian —
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Because I think, Chuck, that we don’t know yet how this thing is going to play out.  I know everybody here is on a 24-hour news cycle.  I’m not.
 
     Q    But shouldn’t — I mean, shouldn’t the world and Iran —
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Chuck, I answered —
 
     Q    — but shouldn’t the Iranian regime know that there are consequences?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I answered the question, Chuck, which is that we don’t yet know how this is going to play out.
  

 
     Q    Thank you.  Back to Iran, putting a human face on this.  Over the weekend, we saw a shocking video of this woman, Neda, who had been shot in the chest and bled to death.  Have you seen this video?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I have.
 
     Q    What’s your reaction?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It’s heartbreaking.  It’s heartbreaking.  And I think that anybody who sees it knows that there’s something fundamentally unjust about that.
 
     Q    We also have people on the ground who have been saying that the streets are quieter now and that is because they feel that they’re paralyzed by fear — fear of people gone missing, fear of violence, that perhaps this is a movement that’s gone underground or perhaps is dying.  Do you have any concern over that?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  I have concern about how peaceful demonstrators and people who want their votes counted may be stifled from expressing those concerns.  I think, as I said before, there are certain international norms of freedom of speech, freedom of expression —
 
     Q    Then why won’t you allow the photos —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Hold on a second, Helen.  That’s a different question.  (Laughter.)  And I think it’s important for us to make sure that we let the Iranian people know that we are watching what’s happening, that they are not alone in this process.  Ultimately, though, what’s going to be most important is what happens in Iran.  And we’ve all been struck by the courage of people.  And I mentioned this I think in a statement that I made a couple of days ago.  Some of you who had been covering my campaigns know this is one of my favorite expressions, was Dr. King’s expression that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."  We have to believe that ultimately justice will prevail.
 
     All right.  Thank you, guys.