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Age Of Change: American Foreign Research Paper

Yet the Obama Administration has also vigorously pursed the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. The discovery of an offensive Iranian nuclear program combined with the suppression of dissenting voices after a corrupt election made adopting a conciliatory and more open position to Iran difficult, despite Obama's stated willingness to open talks with that nation. "I would say to those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was" (Solomon & Spiegel 2009). Even his tenuous statement that America supports all impulses towards freedom was controversial -- Iranian hard-liners used it as evidence of American interference in their internal affairs, while the president's right-wing critics at home said that it was not sufficiently strident. "Any push by Mr. Obama to overtly support Iranian opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi could make diplomatic talks more difficult, while potentially painting Mr. Mousavi and his supporters as American puppets" (Solomon & Spiegel 2009).

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The popularity of America has waned worldwide, but particularly in the Middle East. Simply supporting democracy, whether in Iraq, Iran, or Afghanistan is not seen as supporting a universal human value -- rather it is still seen as supporting a uniquely American agenda. Obama's delicate rhetorical balancing act in the future must involve urging the Muslim world not to see democracy as a Christian value -- while fighting right-wing critics at home who stress the 'Judeo-Christian' nature of the American political process.
Works Cited

"Obama's speech in Cairo." The New York Times. June 4, 2009.

October 31, 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/politics/04obama.text.html

Solomon, Jay & Peter Siegel. "Obama says Iran must pick its own leaders."

The Wall Street Journal. June 16, 2009. October 31, 2009.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124510480449716609.html

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

"Obama's speech in Cairo." The New York Times. June 4, 2009.

October 31, 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/politics/04obama.text.html

Solomon, Jay & Peter Siegel. "Obama says Iran must pick its own leaders."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124510480449716609.html
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