Remembering Iran's Protests on the 4th of July
Remembering the protests in Iran in pictures and film on the occasion of the America Declaration of Independence:
Aljazeera English on "Mousavi and the Masses", part I:
Mousavi and the Masses," Part II:
Parnaz & Ashkan:
"The Owner of this Land":
And some relevant print reports:
LAT on one innocent man's 10 days in Iran's labyrinth of a prison system, just because he stopped to help a fallen protester.
A coordinated international response is building against Iran's plan to put Iranian UK embassy employees on trial.
Fareed Zakaria's (implicit reply to Bomber Bolton):
CNN: What about a military strike?
Zakaria: It would be bizarre to bomb Iran-- which means bombing Iranians -- now that we have seen the inside of that country. Moussavi and his supporters want a less confrontational approach to the world. So do many members of the establishment.
Moussavi attacked Ahmadinejad repeatedly for his aggressive foreign policy. So we now know the answer to the question, "Are there moderates in Iran?" Yes, millions of them.'
End/ (Not Continued)
posted by Juan Cole @ 7/04/2009 12:10:00 AM
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3 Comments:
Thanks for posting these informative videos. As an Iranian American, I regret all the salary paid to "Bomber Bolton" who appears so ignorant about the situation in Iran. Bombing Iran will not achieve anything except strengthening the hands of the reactionary clerical elite, headed by Khalif Khamenei." This approach to Iran will only weaken the freedom seekers who are attempting to amplify the republican aspect of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While Iranian freedom seekers need the people to people support of the American people, Obama's support for human rights in quite adequate. Any further comments on his part that could be interpreted as intervention in the internal affairs of Iran will be abused by Khamenei and AN to label President Mousavi and his supporters as agents of the US. Obama has said/done nothing, and still the Islamic Dictatorship has laid the stage to more seriously harm Mousavi and the freedom seekers who support him. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, actions of the European Union, pressure on Russia and China to withdraw their support , is by far more effective than any sir strikes or "strong" words by a US administration. Amrican people, however, can flood the offices of the elite and grand ayatullahs with letters and faxes requesting release of the political prisoners, free press, cancellations of the fraudulent elections, and conduct of a new election under international (UN) supervision. Juan, please keep up the good work! You are an asset to the world human rights community, particularly as it relates to the Middle East.By the way, Iranians had organized a demonstration in front of the Parliment of the European Union. Iranians and Iranian Americans welcome participation by American as well as other communities around the world in protests held outside Iran to keep the freedom and human rights in Iran under the spotlight. Thanks again.
Let us not forget that Iraq was invaded ostensibly to "liberate the Iraqis".
I agree with Zakaria 100%, the US government needs to be cautious and clever and not fall into the trap of simply reacting to Iranian 'outrages'.
There are moderates in Iran and it is in all parties interest for them to remain so.
It is mostly in the interest of the Revolutionary Guard/Amadenajhad/Guardian Council since the moderates will hesitate to use force.
So far, no Molotov cocktails or pistols, when they arrive and police/basij start being killed this 'Fhony Revolution' will be over and the moderates will radicallize quickly. The real revolution will start then.
Hopefully, this will not happen. Time is on the side of the moderates. There has to be a split between the (elderly) mullahs and the ambitious RevGuards.
The wildcard is the Iranian military. Whose side will they eventually chose. The Iranian 1 million- man army has enough weight to change outcomes but so far seems to be content to sit and watch. This is another COMPELLING reason for the US militarists to restrain themselves, to not snatch a foreign policy defeat from the jaws of victory.
Another thing to keep in mind is there is an energy component to this contretemps. Any fighting will result in a sharp increase in crude oil prices. I suspect this is keeping the remaining Washington neo- empire- building crowd in the Pentagon and NSA under control. It's poison for the Iranain ruling junta since high prices aren't guaranteed to Iran. Enough violence and Iranian exports will fall or be embargoed.
Energy Deux; oil prices at current levels are the force that is destroying the world's economies. $45 oil is probably the economy killer. The cost of inputs is greater than the return of industry.
What will $150 do?
In line with that, if the Iranians think they can 'make a revolution' and become American style consumers they have a great surprise waiting for them. The outcome of their revolution is likely to be a sharply declining standard of living and much deprivation. The rest of the world will applaud the end of the mullahs but will not pick up the bill. The rest of the world is becoming poorer by the month.
Iran, just like the rest of the world will have to endure. It's the oil ...
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