Going Green -- Support Iranian democracy

[Anonymous]

Jeff, I see that the top bar of the website has a green background. Is that a shout out to the protesters in Iran? (For other readers, people are adorning their websites and internet avatars, etc., with green to support the protesters.)

It is such an exciting time there. I think many Americans don't know the history of collective action in Iran but it has a history of popular protest against repressive governments (e.g., the Shah in the late 70s) much greater than most countries in the Middle East. I don't know how this will end but it is heartening to see people stand up against Ahmadinejad.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, I see that the top bar of the website has a green background. Is that a shout out to the protesters in Iran? (For other readers, people are adorning their websites and internet avatars, etc., with green to support the protesters.)

Yes, definitely. Whenever people are in the streets protesting their government, they will almost always have my support. I have often argued against conventional wisdom that Iran was one of the most democratic countries in the region and way more democratic than most of our allies. Even with the current developments, I would still argue that these protests could not have been held in most of our Middle East allies' countries. The protests would have been squashed by the security forces. Nevertheless, in the most humblest of ways, I'm offering support to the demonstrators. And, btw, before changing the top bar, I checked our Google Analytics stats. We had 8 visitors from Iran in the last 30 days. So, maybe someone there will see it.

[Anonymous]

I noticed this a couple of days ago- having family over there, I really appreciate the support.

[Anonymous]

Cool. I thought it was my browser settings the other day.

[Anonymous]

I support the kids in the mall who want to hold hands versus the fatwah wielding mullahs. Unfortunately or fortunately, this is a struggle that Iranians must tackle--with our heartfelt moral support. However, there is little we can do that is directly interventionist--we will just set up hopes as in Tiannamen that we cannot follow through on. The Iranian people must be brave and change an abject system for themselves. Sadly, Mousavi himself joined in the fatwah on Rushdie, for ideology or expediency or whatever. The 'ruling class' in Iran is not a crowd I would invite over. The kids in the mall deserve better, cleaner leadership, and I hope they become it. We love and support you kids!!! Go Green!

[Anonymous]

It's time for Obama to be less tepid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's time for Obama to be less tepid

It would make me feel good also, to hear Obama lash into Khamenei for his ridiculous stand on the election. But I accept the idea that the purpose of diplomacy is not making your constituents feel good, but working toward national goals. I don't know the most effective way to move toward an Iran that does not threaten the rest of the world, but I give Obama the benefit of the doubt that he should not just be a mouthpiece for US public opinion.

On the other hand, even as the President speaks judiciously on the issue, it may not be a bad thing for Iran to know how angry general public opinion here is. So even as I counsel people not to expect Obama to blithely speak from the gut, I am not saying that the rest of us have to hold our tongues.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:It's time for Obama to be less tepid

I'm not sure that there is anything Obama can do to positively affect the situation. To the contrary, any overt actions or words in support of the opposition will be used by the regime to discredit the protesters. I wonder, does anyone know of any requests for support coming from the opposition? If they haven't asked, maybe they don't want our support. Watch this Iranian propaganda film from last year that would have John McCain and George Soros organizing this type of opposition movement:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's time for Obama to be less tepid

We don't want to play into the regime's game of blaming the demonstrations on the United States. Obama is doing EXACTLY THE RIGHT THING to support the protesters. Iran is going through an intense internal political struggle which Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, and company want to blame on external forces. We average citizens in the US can support the protesters but Obama needs to keep the US government from distracting people from the real problems in Iran.

I say this as someone who is an advocate of democracy and equality in Iran. I want the protest movement to make it a better place. I think Obama does, too, and that's why he is being careful about what he says.

[Anonymous]

As Peggy Noonan put it -

http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

"(If you don't understand who the American people are for, put down this newspaper or get up from your computer, walk into the street and grab the first non-insane-looking person you meet. Say, "Did you see the demonstrations in Iran? It's the ayatollahs versus the reformers. Who do you want to win?" You won't just get "the reformers," you'll get the perplexed-puppy look, a tilt of the head and a wondering stare: You have to ask?)"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As Peggy Noonan put it -

http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

"(If you don't understand who the American people are for, put down this newspaper or get up from your computer, walk into the street and grab the first non-insane-looking person you meet. Say, "Did you see the demonstrations in Iran? It's the ayatollahs versus the reformers. Who do you want to win?" You won't just get "the reformers," you'll get the perplexed-puppy look, a tilt of the head and a wondering stare: You have to ask?)"

Isn't Noonan's question about "the ayatollahs versus the reformers" a bit simplistic? Rafsanjani is also an ayatollah, and it's not clear how much of a "reformer" Moussavi is. We still have the recent example of Rumsfeld's analysis of Iraq, which had them dancing in the streets as we marched in; isn't that enough to tell us to be very hesitant about handicapping the politics of a distant country?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's time for Obama to be less tepid

I'm not sure that there is anything Obama can do to positively affect the situation. To the contrary, any overt actions or words in support of the opposition will be used by the regime to discredit the protesters. I wonder, does anyone know of any requests for support coming from the opposition? If they haven't asked, maybe they don't want our support. Watch this Iranian propaganda film from last year that would have John McCain and George Soros organizing this type of opposition movement:

This is hilarious!
I was astonished to see that one of the alleged US conspirators is Gene Sharp, a well-regarded advocate of massive nonviolent resistance. Sharp has studied nonviolent resistance movements all over the world and argues (quite rightly in my view) that massive civil disobedience is quite effective in resisting violent regimes. Wow, the fact that they're including him in their stupid propaganda video shows that they really feel threatened by this.

And after all, the clerics should know. This is how a broad Iranian citizens' movement overthrew the Shah in 1979. And because the Shah had focused on imprisoning the leftists (remember the Cold War?) over the years, the clerics were better organized to take over and once they did they got rid of all the leftists, too.

I know people complain about leftists "blaming America first" and quite rightly some times. But this is one case where maybe if we hadn't overthrown a democratically elected government in Iran in 1953 and installed the Shah, there might not be a conservative Muslim theocracy in Iran today. But hindsight is 20/20 as they say.....

[Anonymous]

You can now 'green' your FB profile pic, or your Twitter pic in sympathy. An astonishing number of people are doing so. Seems like today Obama is getting a clue - the master of a movement is surprised by the strength of a movement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As Peggy Noonan put it -

http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

"(If you don't understand who the American people are for, put down this newspaper or get up from your computer, walk into the street and grab the first non-insane-looking person you meet. Say, "Did you see the demonstrations in Iran? It's the ayatollahs versus the reformers. Who do you want to win?" You won't just get "the reformers," you'll get the perplexed-puppy look, a tilt of the head and a wondering stare: You have to ask?)"

Isn't Noonan's question about "the ayatollahs versus the reformers" a bit simplistic? Rafsanjani is also an ayatollah, and it's not clear how much of a "reformer" Moussavi is. We still have the recent example of Rumsfeld's analysis of Iraq, which had them dancing in the streets as we marched in; isn't that enough to tell us to be very hesitant about handicapping the politics of a distant country?

I think you have a point.

A long time ago we sided enthusiastically with the mujahedin to defeat the Russians in Afghanistan. We are now fighting some of those people today. I don't think this situation is exactly the same, but in the midst of the fervor, we are not interested in understanding the details about the opposition, and that might cost us down the road. Still, I would side with the opposition.

[Anonymous]

We can stand with "Neda" morally by making strong statements that basic freedoms are a given right. We can work through the UN for further sanctions. We can up the pressure and isolation on the thuggish government. Instead, hotdog diplomacy? Seriously? I could see Obama's 'plan' a month ago. However, the facts on the ground are different now. This is the first breach in this black curtain in 30 years. Is there no shame in inviting the same people who stormed our embassy to a 4th of July picnic? No 4th of July hot dogs for thugs!