I realize that the question of what Obama would do with regards to Iran has been receiving alot of coverage recently, and some may feel the issue is being overblown. Others however feel it is a very pertinent issue, and one which Obama will need to clarify if the American people are expected to trust him to be Commander in Chief.

I had written yesterday about Obama and the two Iran’s, noting that he had given a very different impression about the threat they pose from one day to the next. At the time I did not insinuate this was a “flip-flop” as many other pundits had, I attributed it more to the different audiences he was speaking to, i.e. he was pandering. The question still does exist though, would a President Obama be willing to preemptively strike Iran if they refused to abandon their attempts to obtain nuclear weapons?

James Taranto points us to a 2004 article which indicates he would:

U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama suggested Friday that the United States one day might have to launch surgical missile strikes into Iran and Pakistan to keep extremists from getting control of nuclear bombs.

the United States should not rule out military strikes to destroy nuclear production sites in Iran, Obama said.

“The big question is going to be, if Iran is resistant to these pressures, including economic sanctions, which I hope will be imposed if they do not cooperate, at what point are we going to, if any, are we going to take military action?” Obama asked.

Given the continuing war in Iraq, the United States is not in a position to invade Iran, but missile strikes might be a viable option, he said. Obama conceded that such strikes might further strain relations between the U.S. and the Arab world.

“In light of the fact that we’re now in Iraq, with all the problems in terms of perceptions about America that have been created, us launching some missile strikes into Iran is not the optimal position for us to be in,” he said.

“On the other hand, having a radical Muslim theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse. So I guess my instinct would be to err on not having those weapons in the possession of the ruling clerics of Iran. … And I hope it doesn’t get to that point. But realistically, as I watch how this thing has evolved, I’d be surprised if Iran blinked at this point.”

Supposedly, Obama now feels that Iran would “blink”, as he is willing to meet with them without precondition. Although this may seem like a flip-flop, as BTO would say, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Here is how he equated Iran to the Soviet Union in 2004:

Obama said that violent Islamic extremists are a vastly different brand of foe than was the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and they must be treated differently.

“With the Soviet Union, you did get the sense that they were operating on a model that we could comprehend in terms of, they don’t want to be blown up, we don’t want to be blown up, so you do game theory and calculate ways to contain,” Obama said. “I think there are certain elements within the Islamic world right now that don’t make those same calculations.

“… I think there are elements within Pakistan right now–if Musharraf is overthrown and they took over, I think we would have to consider going in and taking those bombs out, because I don’t think we can make the same assumptions about how they calculate risks.”

Compare that to Obama speaking about the same issue this week:

“Iran, Cuba, Venezuela–these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don’t pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying we’re going to wipe you off the planet.”

Of course in 2004 the country Americans were more concerned about the threats from the middle east than they are today, which could play into Obama’s rhetoric. As Americans have began feeling safer at home, and more opposed military action abroad, Obama’s opinion has swayed with the opinion polls. While it may help his electability always being on the same side as the majority opinion, it is not a quality one expects from a leader. A leader should have the courage of his or her convictions to stand by their opinion of what is best, even if the polls are against them.

The fact remains, Obama continues to remain a mystery to us as to how he would handle his foreign policy. If he plans on being the anti-war President as he leads his followers to believe, then let him speak out honestly as Ron Paul did and declare that our military does not belong in the middle east under any circumstances. If he believes as George Bush and John McCain do that our military does belong there under certain circumstances, then he must outline what those circumstances are.

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Barack Obama, Election 2008, Features, Iran, Terrorism