Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Not exactly in the mood for "change"

It looks as if Barack Obama will need to come to terms with the fact that the Khomeinists in Tehran may not be as willing to chat it up with him as he has thought. In these photos, hardline supporters of Khamenei and Hamas burn Obama's photo and drive a car over it, just as they have done with Bush these last 8 years.





But here is where it gets interesting, and this shows how divided Iran really is. Instead of putting his trust in Khamenei, he should reach out to Iranians like these brave citizens:

The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has sparked a predictable wave of protest throughout the Muslim world. (Somebody please call us the day a similar protest is held against al Qaeda's mass murder of Muslims in Iraq or Pakistan.) But theirs aren't the only voices making themselves heard on the subject of Gaza...

...an Iranian student group is pointing the finger at its own government. "Those who have armed and encouraged groups like Hamas . . . have innocent blood on their hands," read a communiqué published December 30 in an Iranian newspaper and translated by the invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute. "Israel's current crimes in Gaza are strongly to be condemned -- but it is equally [important] to condemn the terror organizations that use kindergartens and hospitals as a shield against [Israeli] attacks."

The Iranian government shut down the newspaper that published these remarks the next day. We can only hope for the safety of the authors. They have shown a great deal more clarity, and courage, than the protestors on the other side.

The bulk of this very insightful article can be read here, in the Wall Street Journal.

A lot more going on than one might think, isn't there?

7 comments:

Average American said...

Now THAT'S some brave people, those college students. I hope and pray for their survival.

C.H. said...

That can't be stressed enough AA.

Do you know what? Obama needs to understand that the only way Khamenei and Ahmadinejad can stay in power is to blame all the country's problems on America and Israel. They will do this no matter who is in the White House.

Average American said...

I can't believe that neither America or Israel has been able to send in a black ops team to "take care of our little problem". Hell, we even let that midget come over here and give a speech in New York. I bet it was our secret service that kept him alive throughout the whole visit. I wish they hadn't done such a good job.

C.H. said...

I think we should have allowed it, but Ahmadinejad and Khamenei should have allowed Bush to travel to Tehran to meet directly with students at Tehran University, where he give a speech and reveal the bloody theocracy for what it is. That would be the most effective tool available, in my mind.

Anonymous said...

In Pakistan, protests helped to reinstate democracy. Hopefully Iran can do the same, but these students are up against a very evil force.

dmarks said...

Yet, Pakistan hosts Bin Laden. And it is a country where the allowed penalties in criminal cases include the sentence of rape.

C.H. said...

Pakistan does not willingly hosted OBL, and remember, AQ has inflicted more harm on Pakistan than perhaps any other country.