From today’s Krauthammer column:
The left can imagine that the decision by President Obama to remain neutral in this “vigorous debate” the Iranian people are now having is a wise one, that it will prevent the demonstrators from being tainted by American support. But on Krauthammer’s core point, that our fundamental values demand action and support for those who oppose this regime whether or not it does them a disservice, there is really no argument. The idea that the American government could remain impartial in this dispute and subsequently do business with the regime regardless of the manner in which it maintains power is a kind of absurd hyper-realism — and it is rejected by the very dissidents in whose interest the left claims Obama is acting. Conservatives are not calling on Obama to use military force to aid the demonstrators in Tehran. They do not expect Obama to provide these demonstrators with arms or money or training, as the Iranians have done for our enemies in Iraq. All conservatives are asking for is that the President of the United States clearly and forcefully denounce a regime that would use violence and intimidation and fraud to maintain its grip on power. It’s possible that doing so could come at the cost of allowing the regime to justify a crackdown, but the inaction and indifference the White House now displays could also invite such a crackdown by signaling that the regime will pay no price for it. So why not just tell the truth?
