GOP Lawmakers Press Obama to Take Tougher Stance on Iran

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In The Media

GOP Lawmakers Press Obama to Take Tougher Stance on Iran

By Karim Sadjadpour

Published on Jun 21, 2009

Source: Fox News

Though the White House released a written statement Saturday in which President Obama used his strongest language to date to condemn what he called a "violent and unjust" government crackdown on protesters, critics say he needs to show more leadership on the issue. Karim Sadjadpour argues, however, that the administration's response has been well-calibrated, "The historical analogy which concerns me... is Iraq in 1991 when George Bush senior encouraged Iraqis to rise up. Saddam slaughtered them, and then the rest of the world didn’t criticize Saddam for the slaughter but they criticized George Bush for encouraging Iraqis to speak out. So I think this regime is looking for the United States to step into this trap so they have the license to slaughter the Iranian people and accuse them, you know, of being American."

About the Author

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Recent Work

Q&A
What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now
- Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Q&A
How Washington and Tehran Are Assessing Their Next Steps
- Aaron David Miller, David Petraeus, Karim Sadjadpour

Political Reform Foreign Policy North America United States Middle East Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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