Justin Webb's America

Obama confuses his enemies

• Justin Webb
• 30 Jan 09, 08:02 PM GMT

This is the kind of domestic flak that President Obama will take for his charm offensive on Iran. And it would be difficult - would it not? - to argue that Charles Krauthammer is wrong in the essentials of his case.

The point is that Mr Obama understands that case himself - the case that says: "Come off it, America IS better, and has a decent case to put before the court of world opinion."

But he also understands that there may be advantages to not making it, indeed to making the opposite case (to the extent that he did in that al Arabiya interview).

In fact, I wonder whether he really disagrees with the Krauthammer position.

George W Bush said what he thought. The new man is capable of sophistry in the matter of confusing his enemies...

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Obama offensive

• Justin Webb
• 30 Jan 09, 06:13 AM GMT

This is what I meant about Oba-my-goodness-what-do-we-do-now, as we should now term it: the confusion felt in foreign hearts and minds as the Obama years get under way.

The Iranian president responded to the overtures from the Obama White House with a list of grievances from yesteryear - almost as if nothing had changed. Perhaps they are kidding themselves that nothing has.

But Obama is nothing if not strategic and the to and fro from the various factions will mean little to him: if he wants to be friends with the Iranians (or anyone else for that matter) there is nothing they can easily do about it. They are being subjected to an offensive and they are scrambling to find their defence.

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