Reportedly, the Obama Administration is afraid to assist the opposition in Libya because they fear this will affect the already failed nuclear talks with Iran. They are afraid that Iran will accuse the US and “its Zionist allies” are using the opportunity to interfere in the Middle East… Guess what? The Iranian regime is already blaming the US of intervening in the region.
The Iranians held a protest today outside the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. They torched US flags and posters of Saudi leadership. (ISNA)
Gerald Seib at The Wall Street Journal reported:
Those wary of intervening, including many in the Obama administration, worry that Western intervention will play directly into the narrative Tehran’s leaders have been spinning to justify cracking down on their own dissidents: that the U.S. and its Zionist allies are waiting to take advantage of any Mideast unrest to seize control of the region and its oil assets.
This Iranian narrative holds that the protesters in Tehran’s streets are either active or unwitting agents of this insidious American conspiracy. Because any military intervention in Libya inevitably would be led by American forces, it would be used to further the argument. Indeed, an examination of statements by Iranian leaders in recent days shows this is precisely how they are framing the Libya question.
With Iran in position to make trouble by fomenting unrest among its Shiite brethren in nearby Bahrain, the question of how Mideast turmoil might advance Tehran’s interests already loomed large. Now it figures to play more directly into the Libya debate, for Tehran is trying to play both sides of the argument, rhetorically supporting the Libyan rebels while opposing Western help for them.
Basing foreign policy on what the Iranian regime is going to say is insane.
Could the Obama Administration really be this confused and naive?
