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Bush reaction backfired in favor of hardliners { June 20 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1078&dept_id=151021&newsid=14723351&PAG=461&rfi=9http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1078&dept_id=151021&newsid=14723351&PAG=461&rfi=9
Bush Comments Apparently Backfire in Iran
By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer June 20, 2005
Iranian boomerang: Bush criticism of vote flies back at Washington
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's spy chief used just two words to respond to White House ridicule of last week's presidential election: "Thank you."
The sarcasm was easy to detect. So was the apparent backfire by Washington.
The sharp barbs from U.S. President George W. Bush were widely seen in Iran as a blow to pro-reform groups because they apparently boosted hardliner turnout in Friday's election - with the result that an ultra-conservative is now in a two-way showdown for the presidency.
"I say to Bush: `Thank you,'" quipped Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi. "He motivated people to vote in retaliation."
Bush's comments - blasting the ruling clerics for blocking "basic requirements of democracy" - became a lively sideshow in the closest elections since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And they highlighted once again the United States' often cross-wire efforts to isolate Iran.
The harder the United States has pushed, even with the best of intentions, the more ground it's lost among mainstream Iranians who represent possible key allies against the Islamic establishment, some commentators say.
In 2002, most Iranians were indignant when Bush placed their nation in an "axis of evil" with North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Iraq. And since then, U.S.-led pressure over Iran's nuclear program has put even liberal Iranians on the defensive.
Bush's pre-election denunciations seemed to do the same. Iranian authorities claim Bush helped bring undecided voters to the polls and undercut a boycott drive led by liberal dissidents who oppose the Islamic system.
The unexpectedly strong turnout - nearly 63 percent - caused a surprise: hard-line Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad finishing No. 2.
That means Ahmadinejad will face off against the top finisher, moderate statesman Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a runoff this Friday.
Rafsanjani - president from 1989-97 - has said he's open to greater dialogue with the United States.
But Ahmadinejad offered no such opening after the vote count finished Saturday and could take a harsher stance toward the United States and its concerns - especially accusations that Iran is secretly seeking nuclear arms. Iran denies the charges.
Ahmadinejad said "you only have to look at the comments" by Bush to understand that the U.S. president "seeks hostility" against Iran.
Iranians have strong nationalistic feelings, notes Hamed al-Abdullah, a political science professor at Kuwait University.
"Unknowingly, (Bush) pushed Iranians to vote so that they can prove their loyalty to the regime - even if they are in disagreement with it," he said.
The conservative hard-line Iranian newspaper Kayhan wrote: "People crushed the U.S. comments and wishes under their feet."
Bush described the election as an exercise in futility because Iran's real power rests with the non-elected Islamic clerics who can override the president and parliament. Many agree with that description of a regime that allowed just eight presidential candidates from more than 1,000 hopefuls.
But even many opponents of the Islamic establishment objected to Bush's tone and timing.
The president's words sounded too much like the prewar rhetoric against Saddam, said Abdollah Momeni, a political affairs expert at Tehran University. Many on-the-fence voters were shocked into action, he said.
"People faced a dilemma," said Momeni. "In people's mind it became a choice between voting or giving Bush an excuse to attack."
Another political commentator, Davoud Hermidas Bavand, thought the main fallout from Bush's statements went beyond the election - destroying any lingering hopes that Washington policy-makers would finally accept Iran's regime.
The United States broke ties with Iran after the revolution when militants seized the U.S. Embassy. Fifty-two hostages were held 444 days.
At a news conference Sunday, Iran's foreign minister, Kamel Kharrazi, said Bush "should apologize to the people of Iran for his comments." And he also extended another wry "thank you."
"Bush's statements brought out voters who didn't want to participate in the elections," Kharrazi said. "We have to thank him for this."
Across the Middle East, Bush's blast hit a fault line.
Bush is trying to firm up the United States' pro-democracy credentials by encouraging gradual reforms in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
But at the same time, the White House is often seen as holding double standards with the occupation of Iraq and alleged abuses of Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
The Bush comments are an example of "the kind of American intervention" that often boomerangs in the region, said Salama Ahmed Salama, an Egyptian political analyst.
"Bush meant to discourage the hard-liners," he said, "but instead he mobilized their supporters."
©Indiana Printing & Publishing Co. 2005
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