Cheneyism

The papers are full of advice to President-elect Obama, and much of it is downright funny. This morning I started reading the following op-ed from an Iranian expert and soon enough I was finding the advice was to let them starve. Darth Cheney is an Iranian expert? you may be asking.

This appalls me, that the writer assumes we would be delighted at the approach that would develop a problem for a whole population as if our advantage were the only factor involved. May I offer this advice to President-elect Obama. The previous occupied White House had an attitude of Eat The Poor. It would very much behoove this country to show that that is not representative of our country.

A bevy of foreign policy experts are pressing President-elect Barack Obama to move quickly on his promise to "engage in aggressive personal diplomacy" with Iran.

He would be better off first taking a long, deep breath and allowing Iran's economic crisis to take its toll on the mullahs before getting down to serious business.

The political landscape has shifted dramatically in Iran in the past few months, handing the United States policy options that it hasn't had since the 1979 revolution. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's populist expenditure policies, coupled with the unprecedented collapse of the oil market, have driven Iran into an economic tailspin. The result is that Iran is more vulnerable to focused economic sanctions than it has been in 30 years.
(snip)
But it's lower oil prices that are really squeezing Tehran. A decline in prices to the $30-$40 range for a year or two would be catastrophic for the regime: Either the poor would have to go without basic necessities, or cronies would have to be heavily taxed.

Well, whoop-ti-doo. Just the ticket. Bring it on. I do not wish to use those and other inane comments, relating to using catastrophe to work our will, as if that were a good thing. The attitude that our national will is the only consideration in international affairs has made us into the most hated nation. It is definitely time for change we can believe in.

The sort of advice that is offered depends on a whole executive branch of evil war criminals, the kind we can celebrate departs in twenty-eight days. Good riddance.