Obama Uses Soft Diplomacy on Iran

President Obama did what many of his predecessors haven't had the gall to do. He ran an unabashed Preempt on the Islamic Republic of Iran by wishing the nation a Happy New Years (or Nowruz) while Screen the long and proud history of the Persian people in his message.

So what's the big deal?

Like the definition says, a Preempt is an action that reverses competitive position, giving the player a superior advantage, limiting a rival's ability to exploit a player's weakness, or both. Preempts are usually decisive and swift so as to surprise and disable the competition.

So were the mullahs surprised? It's tough to tell. But Obama's intended outcome isn't hard to surmise.

The President clearly hopes that it will become increasingly difficult for the mullahs to incite Death to America" chants on the streets of Tehran. Obama is also neutralizing the mullah's ability to use the U.S. as a Red Herring upon which it can pin all of Iran's real and perceived problems.

Posted by: John Koval