President right to exercise caution

The president’s rhetoric on Iran is so far well tempered, even with the many injuries to protestors. Iranians have chosen their process and we should respect its outcome even if we disagree with the current regime.

The U.S. has been very proactive in the many years since World War II in the promotion of democracy, and we must let the process take its evolutionary course.

Those of us who recall the long lines for the limited availability of gas in 1974 at any price, with the purchased of gas on odd and even days linked to our license plate numbers, must remember that Iran can at its whim have a global impact that can further deepen the U.S. recession and harm the world economy and global stability.

We are already engaged in two wars in the Middle East; with North Korea’s moves to further intimidate, we cannot be more aggressive in our response in Iran.

North Korea poses a more near-term threat, especially with the imminent boardings by U.S. and Asian nations of vessels bound to and from North Korean ports.

Caution must be the precept, especially in light of the Obama administration’s na-ivete on many fronts. However, he is getting this one right, and we must support our president in this difficult hour.

The regimes in North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela will eventually implode, as did that of the Soviet Union.

And the pundits of the day on the left and the right should diminish their at times outrageous comments, as they only seek to improve their ratings and personal agendas.

We are at the brink again of another war in the Asian theater, and anyone who thinks otherwise does not learn from history. 

Richard Mercier
Albemarle County