This Won’t End Well…

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Pics from protests in Iran via The Goldfarb on Twitter:

protesters attack base

Smoke billows from a burning car as supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi attack a local base of the Islamic Basij militia. AFP PHOTO/STR. AFP. WAR.

protesters attack building

Protesters attack a building of pro-government militia near a rally supporting leading opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in Tehran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi).

The protesters can expect no help, or encouragement from the Obama administration…

But Robert Gibbs did issue this  forceful statement: “We continue to be heartened by the enthusiasm of young people in Iran.”

Some quick links:

The UK Telegraph: The Iranian election: Barack Obama’s cowardly silence

Obama’s deafening silence over the Iranian election is a disgrace. According to The New York Times, the president “did not even convene any high-level White House meetings or conference calls on Sunday”. That’s not the mark of a leader but a clear display of weakness. It’s a sad day when the greatest power in the world withholds criticism of a brutal, tyrannical and illegitimate regime for fear of upsetting its rulers.

Hot Air: Good news: State Department refuses to condemn Iranian crackdown

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday that the United States is concerned about allegations of ballot fraud.

Kelly described the U.S. government as “deeply troubled” by the events in Iran, which is a stronger expression of concern than over the weekend when Vice President Biden cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.

When pressed by a reporter, Kelly declined to condemn the Iranian security forces for their crackdown on street protesters. And he said the U.S. knows too little about the conduct of the election to say for sure whether there was fraud.

See Hot Air link for examples of the crackdown.

More must-see pix from the uprising, here.

Gateway Pundit: Iranian Opposition Leader Defies Ban– Leads Massive Protest in Tehran (Video) …Update: Gunfire at Rally- At Least 1 Dead …Update: 15 Dead

Here’s a website with all the Iranians on Twitter during the clashes.

More good coverage at Atlas Shrugs: IRAN BLOWBACK

CNN: Hatred, chaos and savage beatings in Tehran

Hot Air: 66% Say Obama Not Being Tough Enough On Iran

Worth a read:

The Election that Wasn’t By: Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com

FrontPage Interview’s guest today is Roozbeh Farahanipour, an Iranian journalist, democracy activist, former political prisoner in Iran and head of Marze Por Gohar Party (MPG), an Iranian opposition party seeking the establishment of an secular republic in Iran. He was a student leader in the 1999 uprising, just one year after creating MPG.

Raw video from today:

Weasel Zippers: Twitter Reschedules Planned Downtime so Iranian Protesters Can Continue to Use Service During Crisis…..

Ace of Spades HQ: Obama Finally Speaks: “I am deeply troubed by the violence I’ve been seeing on television;” “It’s up to the Iranian people to determine their leaders.”
Update: Full Statement Added

The Washington Times:Revolutionary Guards Arrested in Iran

According to the Cyrus News Agency, Tuesday morning 16 senior members of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were arrested. “These commanders have been in contact with members of the Iranian army to join the people’s movement,” CNA reports. “Three of the commanders are veterans of Iran-Iraq war. They have been moved to an undisclosed location in East Tehran.” This report has not been confirmed by other sources. If true, it shows that the regime is losing the loyalty of some members of its control appartus, which is necessary if the opposition has any chance of achieving fundamental change.

MORE (June 16):

Gateway Pundit:

President Panty Waist: “It Would Not Be Helpful if the US Was Seen by the World as Meddling” …Update: Sarkozy Denounces Iran Vote Fraud

and

George Bush Stood With Democracy Activists– Obama Stands With Dictators

Obama has made it clear that he intends to continue to seek dialogue with Iran despite the irregularities in the election, but now even liberal Slate thinks Obama should disengage with Iran:

It’s time for President Obama to rethink his policy of “engagement” with Iran.

Given the near-certainty that Iran’s election was fixed and the documented fact that protesters are being brutalized, there is no way that Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could go to Tehran and shake hands with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, much less to expect that any talks would be worthwhile.

Some helpful ideas for Obama:

Powerline: A word from Ronald Reagan

Dr. Zero, The Green Room: What The President Should Have Said To The Iranian People

An alternate viewpoint:

Innocent Bystanders: Muslihoon Sez: Obama’s Right About Iran

If Obama, or any official of the US administration, were to come out in support of the protestors, it will be exceedingly easy for Mahmoud Ahmadi-nezhad and Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Hosseyni Khaamene’i (the theocrat of Iran) to dismiss the entire “enghelaab” (revolution) as a foreign “saazesh” (plot, plan). As an external attempt to destabilize the Irani state, the current government would delegitimize the “enghelaab” and authorize the state apparatus to use excessive force against the protesters, reformists, and other leaders (because, see, then it wouldn’t be a revolution but rather a riot plotted by the Great Satan to overthrow the government).

Discuss.

26 thoughts on “This Won’t End Well…”

  2. In the late 70’s, the students in Iran where key in leading a revolution that brought Islamic fascists to power. US hostages were taken and held for over a year, the US economy was descending into a shambles with spiking interest rates, energy shortages, high taxes and massive public debt and the US sunk to it’s lowest levels both in the middle east and in general world estimation. The president was a nobody who got elected based on media adoration of somebody new coming to inject a new hope and some change into DC.

    Anybody else feel like we’ve been here before?

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  4. Has someone already come up with a way that we in the US can express our sypathy with the coup and go around our insane government?

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  11. >>Considering how chaotic the situation is, has it occured to anyone that the President may have given some thought to what he says and when he says it?

    Yea, I considered it. Then I rejected it. I think it’s a whole lot more likely that TOTUS is down and Barry has no idea what to say.

    The little squirt in Iran calls the US The Great Satan, threatens us with nuclear weapons, throws US reporters in jail on trumped up charges but Barry is afraid of offending him because what, the mullahs might not negotiate away their nuclear weapons?

    Put down the crack pipe.

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  12. Considering how chaotic the situation is, has it occured to anyone that the President may have given some thought to what he says and when he says it?

    Considering the fact that he constantly puts himself forth as one skilled in “crisis management”, your postulation becomes somewhat improbable. What we are witnessing is the tragedy that occurs when HOPE! is concentrated in an empty suit who has demonstrated repeatedly that he does not believe that America has the moral authority and the duty to speak to issues of basic freedom.

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  14. Unlike the hollow talk from our previous administration, our current President is skilled to know when to speak in a crisis and when to withold comment. If you are truly concerened about freedom, then you will understand that just speaking for the sake of speaking is hardly a statement of support.

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  17. It is not President Obama’s job to police the world. Iran should deal with her problems because we have ours.

    The Presidents plate is full here at home. IRAN needs to take care of its own mess. America is not the “VOLTRON” of the world!

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  18. Has it ever crossed anyones mind that they might NOT WANT TO SAY ANYTHING, because this is EXACTLY what the Iranian government would want in order to clamp down on the protesters? Man, you morons must of been born yesterday. The fact the US isn’t saying anything, and leaving them too it, is showing the public of Iran that the US isn’t behind the protesters, and galvanising opposition for the Mousavi camp. It’s a question of allowing legitimacy!

    For Obama to say something would give legitimacy to the Iranian regime, and that’s the last thing it wants. He’s pretty much defanged the Mullahs when he did his speech in Cairo, now the protestors have to knock down the regime.

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  19. >>Man, you morons must of been born yesterday.

    Actually, I was born in time to see the US stand behind the democratic forces in Poland during their overthrow of a communist regime. I was born in time to see the US stand behind the democratic forces in the USSR and got to see it crumble. Now I can add I was born in time to watch a US president stay silent as the world’s largest sponsor of state terrorism was threatened by an internal revolt.

    Your historically wrong. You might be young or just stupid. If you’re young, there’s a chance you might grow up and learn. If you’re just stupid, well, the world needs guys to clean the porta potties.

    Oh and genius, I’m pretty sure the people in Iran know who is behind the protest they are throwing since, ya know, they are throwing it. And I’m pretty sure that shooting protesters, beating them, jailing them, expelling foreign journalists, closing down telephone and internet access qualifies as “cracking down”.

    >>He’s pretty much defanged the Mullahs when he did his speech in Cairo,

    Well damn, then why doesn’t he just got to Riyadh and speechify some more? He could inflict mortal damage on the Islamic nuts and *bonus* he might not have any time to inflict damage to the US!

    Seriously, do you Obamabots ever get tired of your hero worship?

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  20. our current President is skilled to know when to speak in a crisis and when to withold comment.

    That’s the funniest thing I’ve read in weeks.

    The Fist-Bumper-in-Chief’s speaking skills consist of tightly delivered rhetorical expositions consisting of glittering generalities focused on a fourth-grade belief that “fairness” means that my neighbor is entitled to the fruits of my labor, and the pseudo-intellectual belief that people cannot govern themselves without the beneficent guidance of a “ruling class” to inject the presence and “expertise” of government into every aspect of our lives, fed to him by a dutiful teleprompter, and when off-teleprompter, we get the finest “uh…uh…uh” and “That question is above my pay grade” that he can earnestly deliver.

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  21. Has it ever crossed anyones mind that they might NOT WANT TO SAY ANYTHING, because this is EXACTLY what the Iranian government would want in order to clamp down on the protesters?

    Try as I might, I really can’t think of too many more ways they could escalate their crackdown against the demonstrators. Perhaps they could start machine-gunning the crowds, or tossing daisy-cutters into the crowds, but its seems to me that if you can watch what is going on right now and not think that a real “Crackdown” is in progress, then you might be a crack head.

    Actually, I was born in time to see the US stand behind the democratic forces in Poland during their overthrow of a communist regime. I was born in time to see the US stand behind the democratic forces in the USSR and got to see it crumble. Now I can add I was born in time to watch a US president stay silent as the world’s largest sponsor of state terrorism was threatened by an internal revolt.

    Jack, you nailed it, except I might stress the fact that his neverending “Apologize for America” tour is evidence that he has no understanding or appreciation for America’s role in the world, but then, do we have any right to expect more from a guy with a mancrush on Hugo Chavez?

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  22. A few random thoughts:

    We used to have a major CIA presence in Iran. Heck, the CIA was instrumental in having the Shah installed there. Wonder if there’s any remnant of U.S. activity there. Yes, I know it’s been a long time–29 years or so–since the overthrow of the Shah. Still . . .

    And if there is some U.S. presence still there, might it be involved in some of the activities going on today?

    That might add some depth–maybe a third or fourth dimension–to Cheney’s claims that Obama’s made the U.S. less secure. Maybe Cheney knows something about U.S.-Iran activities that we don’t . . . and maybe Obama has somehow altered that. After all, most observers agree that Iran really poses more of a threat to the U.S. than the other two members of the “Axis of Evil”–Iraq and North Korea. Has Cheney been referring to something more substantive than waterboarding with his repeated blasts about U.S. security? And might that explain Panetta’s attack on Cheney? That the real issue isn’t waterboarding, but Iran?

    Just something to think about.

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  23. Woo-hoo, nicedeb made the front page of WordPress!

    As to Obama and Iran, he’s got a passle of speechwriters. Can’t he come up with something that underlines the US position that we don’t recognize the legitimacy of the Iranian regime and that, while perhaps not endorsing the protests, gives them some legitimacy?

    As to giving time to think of what to say, that’s a valid excuse the first 24 hours. After that? Not so much. His tepid remarks are a poor substitute for a strong endorsement of freedom. I’m already dubious about his commitment to liberty here at home. His failure to call for it overseas does nothing to assuage my fears.

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  25. >>TEHRAN, Iran – Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of “intolerable” meddling in its internal affairs, alleging for the first time that Washington has fueled a bitter postelection dispute. Opposition supporters marched in huge numbers through Tehran’s streets for a third straight day to protest the outcome of the balloting.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090617/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election

    I guess we can dispense with the Obama excuse that he didn’t want to be seen as “meddling” in the Iranian electoral process now. Everyone does understand that we are dealing with a regime that denies the Holocaust and says the hidden Imam is right around the corner, right?

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