To the editor:
Vice President Joseph Biden’s recent comments about the Bush administration’s handling of Iran are divisive and unnecessary.
In Biden’s defense, it is true the Obama administration has gone to great lengths to deal with Iran diplomatically. However, progress is little.
Iran is still working feverishly on its nuclear program, with little reason to believe that economic sanctions led by the U.S. have caused them to have a change at heart.
Naturally, enter the shots across the bow. Biden’s comments are intended to show the contrast of Bush’s unilateral approach to Iraq and Iran, to the Obama administration’s pro-diplomacy, pro-United Nations approach.
Why? Why does this need to be another partisan attack?
Most all Americans agree that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable and would inevitably lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. The majority of Americans favor diplomacy to solve the problem, not war.
Even more so, the majority of Americans favor leadership. Leadership is not throwing the previous administration under the bus.
In case anyone needs a history lesson, Iran has been an international headache and state sponsor of terrorism essentially since the revolution that ousted the shah in 1979.
Excuse Bush for not rolling out the red carpets for them. Excuse Bush for making it clear there is no distinction between terrorists and the states that harbor them.
Biden should know that the Iran problem is not ending any time soon. As divided as we seem, there are certain issues where we’re all on the same team.
Biden should be reminding us how we stand together on Iran. Biden should not be creating smoke when there is no fire to begin with.
When it comes to America’s defense, there is no room for partisan attacks. Mr. Vice President, the American people, and our allies, deserve better.
Daniel Purinton,
Topsham
letters@timesrecord.com
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