Monday, June 15, 2009

Iran: The Robust Debate, It Burns!

I have to admit, it's heartening to see that the video and audio of the crackdown in Iran is getting out to the world. The Iranian government tried its best to shut down the communications networks in Iran after the election, but it looks like there are holes the bag. That is excellent, yes.

Now, the question is, so what? OK, Iran had an "election" and a lot of Iranians got angry because they figure their incumbent bastards shut their reformer bastards out and tried to cover it up. And so? Is anyone going to do anything about it, or is the glorious revolution going to fizzle? I don't claim to know, I'm just asking.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

As another blog pointed out, with either one in office, it's not going to be or become a democracy. So let the Iranians figure it out for themselves. We don't need to get involved, unless there's an actual threat (nuclear). And at that point, we need to step back & give the Israelis some cover & space to work in. Which at this point, I highly doubt that Obeyme will allow America to do.

B Woodman
III

Dawn Maria said...

Saw you on the Book Ends blog today and loved the Jayne hat. I own one too. Browncoats rock!

NotClauswitz said...

It sadly reminds me of Tienmann Square. Like Chinese, the Iranian students have been hoodwinked and brought-up to believe in the system and that somehow they could "represent." And the opportunity to vote, even if it's Theater, a fake and a sham, it still represents a tangible public outreach - it's a lot of work to put on a big fake like that and people see it everywhere.
But as everybody outside the System knows, it's like watching a teenager in a horror movie opening a door behind which lurks a big fright - at a minimum. In a Totalitarian system like both China and Iran free choice isn't going to happen voluntarily from The Leadership Cadres any time soon.
But saying something, anything, like that which buoyed the spirits of the Russians Dissidents like Shcharansky, when Reagan declared the Soviet Union was an *Evil Empire* - that meant a lot to them, and as he Shcharansky said, the world pivoted on that afterward.
Words DO means something, isn't that what Obama has been saying for the past twelve months?

Don said...

Yes, but Woodman is right. Moussavi is the opposition to Ahmadinejad, but he's still the handpicked man of the mullahs. They excluded hundreds of candidates, but they didn't exclude him. He's not going to be the Lech Walesa of Iran. From that point of view, Obama has to decide whether getting this guy (who was part of the original revolution in Iran) is worth picking a fight.