Damn the evidence; full speed ahead!

http://tinyurl.com/ncs2sd
Wanted: 'Hope' for Iran Rarely in U.S. history has a foreign policy course been as thoroughly repudiated by events. By BRET STEPHENS WSJ 6-17-09 On the one hand we have democratically elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reputed hardliner, who on Sunday abandoned his own long-held position and,...spoke of his willingness to accept a Palestinian state -- provided only that the Palestinians forswear military pursuits, resettle Palestinian refugees in their own territory, and recognize Israel as a Jewish state, just as the U.N. did at the country's founding.
On the other hand...Ahmadinejad, Holocaust-denier and nuclear aspirant, who on Friday was declared the winner of an election so transparently rigged...scores of reformist politicians have been arrested or intimidated, rallies have been banned, and the possibility of an Iranian Tiananmen hangs in the air. Question: Toward which of these two leaders does President Obama intend to play the heavy? Not, apparently, with the Iranian. ...Gibbs said the White House "was impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated, particularly among young Iranians." On Sunday, Joe Biden allowed that there "was some real doubt" about the election, but said the U.S. would continue its outreach to Iran anyway. ...the president finally echoed his spokesmen. This is a strange turn of events. In Cairo two weeks ago, Mr. Obama trumpeted "my commitment . . . to governments that reflect the will of the people." .lamented that "the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government."...Now a presidency that's supposed to be all about hope is suddenly in cynical realpolitik mode -- the only "hope" it means to keep alive being a "grand bargain" over Iran's nuclear program. This never had much chance of success, but at least until Friday's sham poll it wasn't flatly at odds with the interests of ordinary Iranians. Not anymore.
...from one Iranian demonstrator..."WE NEED HELP, WE NEED SUPPORT," this demonstrator wrote. "Time is not on our side. . . . The most essential need of young Iranians is to be recognized by US government. They need them not to accept the results and do not talk to government as an official, approved one."
Someday a future president may have to apologize to Iranians for Mr. Obama's nonfeasance, just as Mr. Obama apologized for the Eisenhower administration's meddling. But the better Eisenhower parallel is with Hungary in 1956....then as now the administration effectively turned its back on the uprising when U.S. support could have made a difference. Hungary would spend the next 33 years in the Soviet embrace. ...Get ready for a second installment of the Iranian cultural revolution. ... As for the hope ...that Mr. Ahmadinejad would moderate his course in foreign policy to allay concerns about his legitimacy,..."It's not true," he said. "I'm going to be more and more solid." Those are words for Mr. Obama to ponder. Rarely in U.S. history has a foreign policy course been as thoroughly repudiated by events as his approach to Iran in his first months in office. Even Jimmy Carter drew roughly appropriate conclusions about the Iranian regime after the hostages were taken in 1979....look ever-so slightly greener thanks to Mr. Netanyahu's attempt at reasonableness and conciliation. Israelis shouldn't count on Mr. Obama responding in kind.