Posted by
EWRoss on Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:00:00 AM
Today’s news out of Iran isn’t good. “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Khamenei has unleashed the full force of Iran’s security police and militias against the Iranian people who remain in the streets protesting a rigged election and a repressive regime. They’re using deadly force to suppress the demonstrations and the death toll is mounting rapidly. Verifying the accuracy of reports accompanied by cell phone videos and Twitter messages is difficult, but it’s increasingly obvious that the situation is dire.
As much as Americans would like to see the popular uprising in Iran succeed, that’s not likely right now. Unfortunately, they’re not that well organized, not that well led, and completely out gunned. And despite claims by the Iranian government that the CIA is behind the demonstrations, it’s highly doubtful that President Obama has let the CIA get anywhere near the demonstrators. That’s also unfortunate. The US has a mixed record when it comes to CIA support for opposition groups in countries with governments we don’t like; and the risks are big. Then again, the risks of allowing the current Iranian government to remain in power and on course to produce nuclear weapons are even greater. At least the White House finally rescinded the invitations for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at our embassies overseas.
Nevertheless, Khamenei and his henchmen can’t put the genie back in the bottle. They may win this round, but the theocracy in Iran is ultimately doomed. Iranians, especially women and the young, have had enough of their oppression. They want the same freedoms and democracy Muslins in Turkey and now Iraq have. They’ve been paying close attention to what’s been going on in Iraq. People laughed when Bush claimed the seed of democracy would take hold in Iraq and spread across the region. We’ll see who has the last laugh.