A new ad from the intellectually challenged group Citizens United suggests that President Obama’s policy towards Iran resembles the policy of appeasement adopted by Neville Chamberlain towards Germany at Munich in 1938. The difference between contemporary Iran and Nazi Germany are significant, certainly significant enough to question the validity of the comparison.
The episode called to mind another moment when the rightwing got hoisted on its own petard with Chamberlain references. Radio show host Kevin James was on “Hardball” and it quickly became obvious that Mr. James did not actually know what Chamberlain did at Munich.
I confess that I am not a fan of the Obama administration’s policy towards Iran, and the failure to give some indication of support for the pro-democracy demonstrations last year was a signal failure. But I confess, too, that I have no idea what we should be doing about Iran. Indeed, to answer the question of what we should do, one needs to know classified intelligence material, because our range of options is distinctly more limited if they have or are very close to having an atomic bomb. One thing is clear, however: Right-wingers talking about Chamberlain and Munich are trying to inflame, not to elucidate.
