Another McCain Foreign Policy Gaffe

Deception or ignorance? That seems to be the question every time John McCain makes a foreign policy gaffe. Whether its Sunnis or Shi'a or yesterday on the nature of Iran's government. Joe Klein reports:

At a press conference here, I just asked John McCain about why he keeps talking about Obama's alleged willingness to talk to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has no power over Iranian foreign policy, rather than Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who does. He said that Ahmadinejad is the guy who represents Iran in international forums like the United Nations, which is a fair point. When I followed with the observation that the Supreme Leader is, uh, the Supreme Leader, McCain responded that the "average American" thinks Ahmadinejad is the boss.

Let's be clear: Iran has a very complex system of government with varying institutions, but at the top of it sits Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who essentially has only accountable to the Council of Guardians made up of clerics, many of whom are appointed by Khamenei. So, Ahmadinejad is not the leader. And as the Council on Foreign Relations explains, especially in the area of foreign policy, Ahmadinejad has very little influence.

On top of that as Klein points out, the president's job is to educate the public on questions of policy. So if the "average American" thinks that Ahmadinejad is the ultimate leader of Iran, it's up to the president to dissuade them of this notion -- not reinforce it. Back in 2002 more then half of Americans thought Saddam was responsible for 9/11 and President Bush did nothing to disprove this assumption (In fact, while never directly claiming that Saddam was responsible for 9/11 the administration did everything it could to reinforce the notion). That doesn't mean our policy should be based on those false assumptions.

Then there is the fact that in 2003 McCain and other conservatives dismissed efforts by Democrats to engage the reformist President of Iran Mohamed Khatami claiming that he had no real power. Now that the president is a hardline demagogue he is the sole voice in Iran that matters. That seems convenient.

Considering the bellicose language and all the speculation about war with Iran, you'd think the Republican nominee for president who consistently touts his foreign policy expertise should either get better briefings on the structure of Iran's government or start exercising that "straight talk" he is supposedly so famous for.

Update: Adam Blickstein has more on McCain's philosophy in 2003 to dealing with a moderate Iranian President:

So, for McCain, when the moderates held elective office, the religious clerics were the final arbiters of Iranian politics and policy. But now that a more hard-line president has control in Iran, he is characterized as the true leader and the religious clerics are marginalized. The ideology of Iran's presidents may have differed over the years, but this in no way changes the fact that the political structure itself over time doesn't change, and largely hasn't changed, since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Comments

[LISABONA]

With no any intentional offense,but Obama,should read World History, and then he will see,he can't compare the old Soviet Union with Iran.First and the most, the Soviet Union never was a terrorist country. When,Reagan and Gorbaciov spoke, the Cold Era was on his final stage. Poland,Cseckhoslovakia, Hungary, Romania,East Germany even in Soviet Union, the communism collapsed. Gorbaciov was to smart to not realize,no way out, he must open a channel of discussion because his "era" was finished also..Iran, in other words, is and was a terrorist country,who has a fanatic and killer view about the rest of the world, sustained by Ahmadinejad, wanting to destroy Israel,killed many American soldiers.He is a killer, Gorbaciov never was a killer, now , he loves America and the American people.

[dratster]

Please go visit Vilnius, Lithuania and tell the people there that the Soviets were not terrorists... The Soviet Union was collapsing yet they still needed to send in the troops as they wanted to declare their independence.... Ask them what happened on January 13, 1991.

I would advise police protection before making that statement.

Further, you need to read history yourself, I won't tell about all the bad acts of the Soviets using client states such as Angola, Syria, Libya...

Gorbachev never was a killer? Tell that to the people of Afghanistan where it took him 4 years to end that conflict after he took office....and he did it because they could not sustain it economically...

[MuseScavenger]

Of course the Soviets were terrorists-- to their own people, especially. Not unlike our own republikan (mis)administration.

[dratster]

Also, Reagan wanted to talk to Brezhnev - but first he got shot(Reagan, if you've forgotten) and then Brezhnev was too sick... and then we witnessed two more Soviet leaders before we finally have Gorbachev...

[JustMyWords]

LOL....there's definitely some history reading in order, but I think you're the one that needs to do the reading. Soviet leaders have publicly spoken out in favor of terrorist activity since 1918 (The Appeal to the Working Class). KGB General Aleksandr Sakharovsky said "In today’s world, when nuclear arms have made military force obsolete, terrorism should become our main weapon." And the Soviet Union at various times has supported the PLO, the PFLP, the National Liberation Army of Bolivia, the National Liberation Army of Colombia, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1969.

And while Reagan may have been speaking to a weakened USSR when he dealt with Gorbachev, EVERY American president maintained relations with the USSR. (Maybe you've heard of the Cuban Missile Crisis?)

[Puller58]

Wow, I wish Lisa could go back in time and talk to all the Cold Warriors about the USSR! Gulags rings a bell? Why do you think Russian Jews immigrated to Israel? Now as far as Imadinnerjacket, come on! He is a figurehead. He is a bogeyman that hardliners in Israel consider a gift from God so they have a reason to get the US to bomb Iran. As far as killing US soldiers, do you have proof Iranians are doing this? Try another analogy.

[wadenelson1]

I'madinnerjacket??? LMAO!

[egal]

Take your own advice. You're wrong all around.

Iran is not a terrorist country--it is a nation-state in which certain terrorist groups have caused a lot of instability and others have gained influence, which makes it like far too many other divided nations in Africa and the Middle East but puts it nowhere near being a nation devoted to, founded upon, or politically committing terrorism.

Obama's experience has no bearing on McCain's stupidity. And Russia just wasn't stupid enough to actively do the terrorising itself in most situations, funding and supplying it instead of risking larger responses.

Communism "collapsed" for the same reason our current government is deemed a colossal failure: centralized power and corruption got in the way of real accomplishments and the needs of the people.

And every leader of every nation is a killer, and every nation a terrorist nation, if you're going to make the mistaken assumption that having terrorist groups and people in the country or government=terrorist country.

[DeWayne]

I'm getting so tired of BS, that I won't even bother with this foolishness.

[Scipio]

Ilan, I read your post with hopes it would delve into the fantasy world of McBush. We are left with either one of two propositions: McBush is right and Obama is lying, or vice-versa. Whether it's normalization of relations with Cuba or sitting down with Ahmadinajad, Barack can't do anything Wright, ooops, I mean right. But it should be clear that we need a new word to mean "beyond spin." Oh, yeah, a lie. Most of McBush's talking points are lies.

[luvienne]

McCain is the sacrificial old stubborn bussard for the Rep. party. What a joke. He was ridiculed by Bush, now with a pat on the head he is taking one for the team. The Rep. don't consider him a loss.

[JTyroler]

I think there are some available beds at the Springfield Retirement Castle - perhaps McCain and Grandpa Simpson can talk about the good old days when wearing onions from their belts was the fad.

[RumiSouth]

THANK YOU!!! I've been shouting this from the rooftops for years now!

Under Iran's constitution (and yes, they have one and they actually follow it), Ahmedinejad is NOT the commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces or security organizations. His actual power is limited to being head of the Majlis, the legislative body -- which in turn has very little real power.

He's about as 'powerful' as Nancy Pelosi!

[billysviez]

Rumisouth, that means he has no power at all and the same amount of balls as Reid.

[savageink]

I'm not a McCain fan, but on this one, he's probably right. Most American's think Ahmadinejad (aka "That Crazy Guy from Iran") is in charge. And regardless of his official state status, he doubtlessly wields a tremendous amount of influence. My impression is that making such a huge deal out of his only engenders sympathy for McCain. It feels trumped up. Then again, I'm just an average American...

[najablah]

Shouldn't our foreign policy be based on what is the actual situation in Iran, not what the the average joe incorrectly believes the situation to be?

[JustMyWords]

Our foreign policy has ignored reality for the last 8 years, and has been based entirely on the whims of one "average joe" who just happens to be in charge LOL.

[JimR]

If the U.S. president starts acting according to what most Americans think, we are so screwed.

[Puller58]

Will of the people eh? Well, outside of a fraction of the Republican base, why are we still in Iraq? Oh, the will of the people doesn't count. Lets stick to what is going on instead of looking for political cover.

[Timma]

Don't you think while campaigning McCain who boasts foreign policy as one of his strong suits should know who the power players are and aren't? Of all people he should be setting the record straight for average Americans. His remark at best was meant to be cute. And that says it all - McCain thinks war is fine and dandy.

[ohboy]

One significant digression: the Bush administration absolutely said that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11, using words like "incontrovertible proof" and other gilded lies.

McCain is an arrogant, inarticulate, aging hothead. Given that Dubya has been prez for 8 years, I'm not sure I see that as a liability.

[wolfi101]

Well, you could always take the position, that no matter how bad McCain is, he'd have to work really hard at it to be worse than Bush.

[ Personally, I think, President Bush could make a Democrat out of anybody. ]

[continental]

Ahmadinejad was a relative unknown until he was singled out as an enemy and campaigned against by dubya bush. Now he's the poster boy for Iran (at least in most Americans minds) even though he is still practically powerless.

[RRonin]

Maybe Vicki Isenman is hiding in Iran!

[conned]

John McCain - the presidential candidate running on a platform of being the only responsible choice concerning matters of foriegn policy - doesn't even know who leads the country he wants to bomb and doesn't want to talks with? If I know who has control over the nuclear program, how is possible that HE doesn't know it?

[santamonica39]

I can't believe McCain has the nerve to say Obama is too inexperienced to be Commander In Chief!

[CTmom13]

It is going to be FUNNY watching him debate Obama - unless they put an ear piece in him like they did Bush........He sounds STUPID even reading from a prompter, he has no real thoughts himself, he reads others and has no clue what he is even reading. Even my daughter said, "he doesn't sound smarter enough to be a President"

[Kundera]

well why bother having an election then?

[wolfi101]

All's Obama has to do is be nice, be smart, and be patient. Eventually "Mr Nasty" will come out, as it did when he was debating Romney back a few months ago.

[MourningDude]

McCain was a brilliant debater.

He was viewed as running a positive campaign, while Romney was tarred as a flip-flopping attack dog.

But in the debates, McCain ALWAYS went on the offensive. He was ALWAYS dressing down Romney. And people gave him a pass on it, because he was only "telling the truth" about Romney, and we don't punish people for telling the truth.

We all saw how quickly Obama got flustered in the last debate with Hillary. He looked angry and his elitist contempt for the voters who actually care about some of the issues he had to answer to came out.

McCain is sure to do the same thing and keep Obama off balance. And of course we all know that Obama's rhetorical and debating skills will be uber-hyped before each debate, so McCain will have the expectations game in his favor as well.

[CTmom13]

He's just getting OLD and Senile

[jayburd]

Obama needs to stop letting surrogates get this message out and do it himself. Is this deception or ignorance, Senator McCain? Answer the question.

[tbmmoe]

Another example of a politician exploiting the ignorance of the public in order to push an idealogically driven policy. In this case, it is the policy of 'confrontation first, negotiation last'. This is far easier to push if you can assign one name and face to your 'enemy'. Please don't confuse me with the facts!!
A naive and incurious public will continue to allow people like McCain and Bush to get away with this until someone has the guts to call them on the carpet for it. This is supposedly the media's job, but of course, they are more interested in ratings than journalism.

[jayburd]

Exactly, so it's up to the candidate to do it himself. Having a barking dog like Joe Biden helps but not enough because there's no bite.

[Spider53]

If anyone is interested in checking out the real McCain, look at this video from Brasscheck:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/325.html

McCain's comments about the safety of Iraqi streets left me incredulous when I first heard them. See if you agree.