Eli Lake, Columnist

The West Can Help Iranians Take Back Their Country

The perfect man for the job: Barack Obama.

January 2, 2018 at 10:00 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Not "moderate" enough for certain Westerners.
Photographer: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

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In case anyone was wondering, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and the rest of America’s political class are with the protesters in Iran. Statements have been issued. Tweets have been tweeted. Virtue has been signaled.

Like the last time Iranians took to the streets, in 2009, these easy acts of solidarity are self-satisfying. But they do not substitute for policy or strategy. It’s time for the hard part.