President Obama spoke at considerable length about the Islamic Republic in his UN address Monday and he spoke about the regime with obvious and strong disgust.
He denounced the regime for deploying “violent proxies” to try to advance its interests across the Islamic world, saying it was only “fuel[ing] sectarian conflict” and isolating itself from its Muslim brethren.
He lauded the nuclear deal with Iran, but seemed to be saying he had little hope that Iran would use the agreement as a launching pad for a new role as a contributing member of the world community. In fact, he came very close to reading Iran out of the world community.
Obama charged that Iran “continues to deploy violent proxies to advance its interests. These efforts may appear to give Iran leverage in disputes with neighbors, but they fuel sectarian conflict that endangers the entire region, and isolates Iran from the promise of trade and commerce. The Iranian people have a proud history, and are filled with extraordinary potential. But chanting ‘Death to America’ does not create jobs, or make Iran more secure. If Iran chose a different path, that would be good for the security of the region, good for the Iranian people, and good for the world.
He lambasted the regime for “demonizing others” and said a policy “that draws on religious sectarianism or narrow tribalism or jingoism may at times look like strength in the moment, but over time its weakness will be exposed. And history tells us that the dark forces unleashed by this type of politics surely makes all of us less secure. Our world has been there before. We gain nothing from going back.”
In response to charges by Iran and others that the United States is trying to force “Amrerican-style democracy” on others, Obama retorted: “I recognize that democracy is going to take different forms in different parts of the world. The very idea of a people governing themselves depends upon government giving expression to their unique culture, their unique history, their unique experiences.
“But some universal truths are self-evident. No person wants to be imprisoned for peaceful worship. No woman should ever be abused with impunity, or a girl barred from going to school. The freedom to peacefully petition those in power without fear of arbitrary laws — these are not ideas of one country or one culture. They are fundamental to human progress. They are a cornerstone of this institution.”
Obama complained that many around the world believe “that strong leadership must tolerate no dissent. I hear it not only from America’s adversaries, but privately, at least, I also hear it from some of our friends. I disagree. I believe a government that suppresses peaceful dissent is not showing strength; it is showing weakness and it is showing fear. History shows that regimes who fear their own people will eventually crumble, but strong institutions built on the consent of the governed endure long after any one individual is gone.”