For the first time, President Obama has spoken out boldly for the removal of an Arab dictator in the Middle East. He has acknowledged that Moammar Gadhafi has lost the respect and allegiance of his people, and that he must step down.
Where was President Obama during the Green Revolution in June 2009? Millions of Iranians protests in the streets against the fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some people gave their lives speaking out against that corrupt, menacing, and tyrannical regime. Now, in 2011, the people of Iran have risen up again against their "president" and the religious zealot Mullahs who pull all the strings in that country. Yet President Obama will not speak out against the oppressors. He will not champion the common noble desire for freedom which the Iranians are crying out for.
What is motivating President Obama's selective support for freedom?
All things consider, Gadhafi is a fossil, a 42-year-old relic. His ouster would not have serious repercussions in the region. Even Israel has little to fear if Libya devolves into a chaotic civil war, for the Jewish state never had an open treaty with Libya, compared to Egypt or Jordan. There is no great harm to Obama's standing on the international stage in speaking out for freedom in a nation whose demise and dysfunction have no real consequences. At least that is the perception.
When will President Obama take a firm stand for anything? When will he speak out for repressed people around the world without trying to calculate the potential cost to the coveted stability and superficial adoration he enjoys in the Middle East?