Leading demonstrators must be executed, Ayatollah Khatami demands

How long will Obama insist we must negotiate with a regime that says this?- Leading demonstrators must be executed, Ayatollah Khatami demands

Obviously the slow ramping up of rhetoric against the Iranian regime that took place in the Obama administration within the last few weeks - as Iran erupted, and domestic politics about Iran in the United States heated up - was seen for what it was: weakness.

I am hardly a hawk but playing footsie with Iran is never a good idea. Obama's hesitation to speak clearly about democratic values immediately and forcefully did little except buy the regime time for its current - and brutal - crackdown.

Obama has maintained a fantasy about Iran since saying during the campaign that he would engage in direct negotiations with the current regime. Now it looks like this obsessions with "giving Iran time" and "remaining open to negotiations" is rank inexperience.

Obama insisted that his reticence to speak up early was to avoid the prospect of the United States being used as a propaganda tool by the Iranian regime. This needs to be called out: Taking a principled stance takes precedence over fear of what an authoritarian regime might do internally. Standing clearly for the rights of the demonstrators early on should not have been optional - for any American President. Why was Obama initially more concerned about the Iranian regime than the demonstrators?

As the Iranian government strengthens its grip, Obama is in an even weaker postilion for not claiming the high ground immediately.