Alex Massie Alex Massie

David Cameron Fails his Persian Exam.

Iain Dale, however, thinks Cameron passed with flying colours. I suppose it was merely a matter of time before the “Why Won’t Obama Come to the Aid of the Protestors?” meme spread to this side of the Atlantic and now, courtesy of the good* Mr Dale, it has. And apparently Gordon Brown and David Milliband havel also failed to help the Iranian regime by offering sufficiently forceful denunciations of their behaviour. That’s not what Iain wants, but it’s what would have happened if the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary had followed his advice.

Iain’s post is headlined “What Would Thatcher & Reagan Have Done About Iran?” which is itself a giveaway in as much as any time you see that question asked you know that dubious historical analogies and desperately simplistic, knee-jerk assumptions are bound to follow in swift order. Sure enough, Iain’s post is no exception. Here’s his commentary:

Over the last week I have been perplexed, and a little appalled, at the response of both the British and American governments to what has been going on in Iran. Their attitude has been totally ‘hands off’ on the basis that they don’t want to interfere in the internal affairs of another country. And yet Britain and the US are supposed to be beacons of democracy and free thought – countries who have been known for spreading the gospel of freedom all round the world. Think back to the early 1980s. Did Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan stand on one side when Solidarity was in its infancy? Did they think that uttering words of support might be damaging? No, not a bit of it. They recognised the importance of sending a clear signal that those who were fighting oppression and dictatorship were in their thoughts. I thought of that when I listened to David Miliband’s weasel words last week.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in