Where Goldberg is wrong

Re “Obama’s Iran plan is a bomb,” Opinion, June 23

Here is one immutable fact of Jonah Goldberg’s columns: If it starts with, “Here is one immutable fact ...” then we know he is about to tell a lie and spend the rest of his column embellishing it.

The most recent one is that President Obama’s foreign policy relating to Iran was wrongheaded, naive and has been made irrelevant by recent events there.

Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, but Goldberg and his friends on the increasingly irrelevant right will say anything to try to make the president look bad.

When unsettling news arrives from Iran, their first impulse is to throw blame his way to see if it sticks. It won’t.

President Obama’s policy of positive engagement and dialogue may or may not have the desired effect in every situation, but surely it stands a better chance than President Bush’s simple-minded arrogance and stubborn bellicosity, which Goldberg seems to miss so much.

Steve Weller

Encinitas

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Is Jonah Goldberg’s vision really that narrow? Obama’s healthy restraint will pay benefits across the globe in ways that Goldberg can’t even imagine. Muslims all over, weary of centuries of Western domination and wars, are watching Obama closely for signs that he will follow in his predecessor’s dubious footsteps. So far, I hope they see in Obama that rare Western leader who is making an honest effort to mend the wounds of the past.

I hope Obama can begin a new era of trust. Goldberg and the rest of the right are stuck in a one-size-fits-all policy. I’m so glad they’re just watching from the sidelines.

Miguel Munoz

Los Angeles