After surviving eight years of a president that did not understand the finer nuances of foreign policy, I am proud that we finally have a president that understands the United States’ role in the world. Currently, mass protest are crowding the streets of Tehran, as the repressed citizens of Iran are attempting, via peaceful demonstrations, to have their voices heard. Many serving members of our government, have criticized the Obama Administration for not taking a hard line stance in support of those speaking out against the elections in Iran. One fierce critic has been former Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain.

“He should speak out that this is a corrupt, flawed sham of an election, and that the Iranian people have been deprived of their rights. We support them in their struggle against a repressive, oppressive regime and they should not be subjected to four more years of Ahmadinejad and the radical Muslim clerics.”

While I believe most Americans would agree with the sentiment of McCain’s words, having the administration take sides in this developing conflict, would be disastrous at this stage. America is viewed as the Great Satan by many of the Iranian people and not without just cause. In the past, our government has meddled in the affairs of the Iranian people many times. Our actions helped organize a coup of a truly democratically elected official, install a Shah (Iranian Monarchy) that many felt was corrupt, and supply Iraq with chemical warfare to aid in their eight-year war with Iran. We are hated. If we were to come out and openly support those currently protesting, we would be giving the ruling Mullahs the ability to change the debate. No longer it would the debate center around the democratic ideals of freedom of speech and of the media… rather it would become a debate between the Iranian nationals and the American-supported rebels. Considering our standing in that region of the world, the latter is not a winnable debate.

Back in 2002, there was an attempted coup in Venezuela to overthrow Hugo Chavez. While initially successful, American involvement allowed Chavez to scapegoat the United States, consolidate his power, and resume control of the country. Since then, the freedoms of the Venezuelan citizens have diminished. Seven years later, we are learning from history. Our president understands that the United States needs to remain supportive of democratic ideals, but ensure that our involvement does not compromise the message of those democratic movements we support. It’s a fine line, but President Obama is walking it correctly.