President Obama's approach to the crisis in Iran is courageous.   He deserves credit for it, and needs our vociferous support.

The temptation to leap into the Iranian fray with both feet must be great.  But as president, Obama has to keep his eyes on the long-term security interests of the American people, and is not permitted the luxury of issuing idle statements of support just because they feel good.  Obama has a complex set of interrelated challenges on his Middle East agenda, and needs to remain focused on the ultimate goals, even if that means exercising frustrating restraint at this juncture.  His willingness to endure the incoming taunts and attacks from irresponsible Republicans is brave, and he deserves credit for it.

What some of the Republicans are doing with this issue is beneath contempt.  They are playing games with the lives of Iranians and the lives of Americans, for the sake of their own short-term political fortunes.

And the more radical Republican lovers of violence and creative destruction are doing something even worse: going for a chaotic Persian train wreck, by means of which they can maneuver Obama into an unavoidable military intervention and escalation in the region.  That's what they do.  They engineered an Iraq train wreck to tie the US military into the Middle East for good, and a fiscal and financial train wreck to sink what was left of the US social welfare system.  But right now they are threatening the very lives and security of the next generation of Americans.   They need to be stopped.

I firmly believe President Obama is looking out for the security of me and my family, and I'm grateful to him for it.   This is the job he was elected to do.