Sunday, June 14, 2009

Voices from Iran

Hot Air's Allahpundit is receiving tweets from students out of Iran. They paint a bad picture. Here's a sample:
RT @iran09: As a reminder, ALL THE COUNTRY is on fire! ppl are fighting in ALL CITIES for their VOTE and against the DICTATORSHIP!
Earlier Ahmadinejad refused to answer when CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked whether he could ensure his competitor's safety. Here she is giving an update with some dramatic footage..



If this election was indeed rigged (were they using Diebolds?) or just outright fraud how might they script it? Speculating here, but they probably wouldn't want a razor-thin margin because that would suggest instability and division to the rest of the world. Chances are they wanted a clear mandate but knew it wouldn't be credible to show a Saddam-like 90+ percent margin so they went with a compromise in the 60s to show a decisive 2 to 1 victory. It doesn't appear the peeps are buying it.

The bigger question is how do we react? Do we accept the results unconditionally and congratulate Mahmoud and if so, what message would that send to those fighting for the freedoms George W. Bush Obama supposedly desires?

Yet if we reject the election as fraud it means we don't believe the government is legitimate going forward, which blurs any future diplomatic efforts Obama wants to pursue. Which way will he go? The street awaits an answer:
CNN reporter says Iranian students keep coming up to him and saying if Obama accepts this result, they're doomed
If he follows his tendency Obama will want to wait several days before committing to anything concrete, which is probably wise, but if things escalate he won't have that luxury. The real wild card here is the supreme Ayatollah---the real "president" of Iran.

MORE 6/15/09

In case you haven't seen many pictures from the chaos, here's a roundup. Looks like the govt goons are winning the street wars, for now, especially after this account:
Seconds earlier the man had dared to stand up to the baton wielding men because they had shoved a 14-year-old girl. For his chivalry he got one of the most savage beatings I have ever seen at the hands of four Iranian riot policemen and members of the Baseej, Iran's plain clothed volunteer militia.

"To hell with Iran," he said as he sat beaten and battered along the sidewalk. "This is not my government. This is not my country."

A grown man who watched the beating burst into tears.
At what point does Obama lose this crowd?

7 comments:

LA Sunset said...

Let's see. We have multiple complaints of voter fraud in this election: the manipulating of vote totals, dead people voting, and thuggery at the polls.

I didn't know ACORN had a chapter in Iran. I guess we are a model democracy, after all.

Darth Rob said...

This is good news for the rest of the world. It is inspiring to see people taking to the streets and rising up against oppression. I cheer them, I support them, and I pray for their victory.

A.C. McCloud said...

Thing is Rob, I doubt they have much of a chance without international backing.

Anonymous said...

For years, I believed Iran to be the center of the new caliphate. Reading this post, where a student approached a CNN reporter and made a comment about being doomed if Obama accepts the results, it suddenly dawned on me: the new caliphate is here, in America … with Imam Obama running the show. Oh wait … is it close to sundown?

Meanwhile, this quote hits particularly close to home: “This is not my government. This is not my country."

There won't be any international backing, AC ... Iranian elections is Iran's business. Besides, Ahmadinutjob is the victim here. Those damn CNN reporters.

A.C. McCloud said...

There won't be any international backing, AC ... Iranian elections is Iran's business. Besides, Ahmadinutjob is the victim here. Those damn CNN reporters.

I uh, er, uh, am deeply troubled by your insinuation, uh, Mustang. I er do not think the caliphate is uh, here in America, that's just right wing hate speech and I condemn it, strongly. Uh, tomorrow I will come out with a strongly worded statement of deep concern, so be very afraid because America does not meddle in foreign elections anymore like Bush.

Anonymous said...

Let's not buy into the corporate media's interpretation of the Iranian election. Let's keep an open mind and not let CNN's hijacking of this movement define the Opposition as the Puma waring last.fm listening, twitters, and the AN supporters as backward ignorant peasants. Let us not fall victim to another US plot against our culture. This is far more delicate than to be dealt with on twitter. Let's stop being so image conscious. Who gives a flying fuck what the Americans think of this movement, what's far more important is what we as Iranians think of it want out of it. And to Mr. McCloud, with all due respect sir, your comment/belief is for the birds, in this case being the American social democrats who sat back and did nothing about your 2004 election.
-Fariba

A.C. McCloud said...

And to Mr. McCloud, with all due respect sir, your comment/belief is for the birds, in this case being the American social democrats who sat back and did nothing about your 2004 election.

Meaning the 2004 election was stolen in your mind, which is also 'for the birds' Mr. Fariba.

But I do appreciate you taking time to post your opinion, and that's not sarcasm or snark. If you are actually posting from Iran that's pretty amazing, and I hope and pray the violence stays down and you get the freedoms you deserve. Just remember--Twitter, You Tube and the internet are American inventions. One day Iranians could be on the same cutting edge, but never with your present regime.