Posted on 01/03/2018 9:07:46 AM PST by RoosterRedux
Is it a revolution? Can it succeed? Should we support it, and if so, how?
Surely this tumult is very different from the protests of 2009. It’s different in at least two ways, geographical and demographical.
Geographically, whereas the 2009 protests were mainly limited to Tehran, today’s phenomenon covers the whole country, from major cities to smaller towns and even rural villages. That’s significant, because those who do not believe in the prospects of an Iranian revolution invariably argue that opposition to the regime is restricted to the elites of the big cities, and that rural populations are pro-regime. It’s difficult to judge how many rural residents are protesting, but it’s a significant number. That’s new, and I believe it surprised both the regime and the leaders of the uprising.
The demographic difference is class: the 2009 demonstrators were Tehrani bourgeoisie (bazaaris, for example). Today’s masses are proletarians: workers, unemployed, failing farmers and the like. Notice that trade unionists are being arrested in Tehran, because the tyrants fear they are the real organizers of the uprising, and because workers and the unemployed are not as easy to intimidate as professors and businessmen.
Then there is ideology. Most accounts would have you believe that this whole thing started because people weren’t being paid, or were hungry. Have you heard anyone chanting “give us our money”? People do not risk their lives just to get their salaries or pensions paid. Protests of this sort are, and have long been, commonplace, but they did not set off a nation-wide conflagration. But the fires are now burning all over the place, and the fires are being set by people who want an end to the Islamic Republic.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
What’s the latest on all the mysterious flights out of the country?
FWIW:
Rita Panahi
@RitaPanahi
Regime goons with loud speakers yelling “Allahu Akbar” are surrounded by protesters who chant “bisharaf” (dishonourable, bastard). The dream of a secular Iran is alive. #IranProtests
https://twitter.com/RitaPanahi/status/948354440611819521
Micheal Leeden is a hardcore neocon and one of the main architects of the Iraq war. He is just about the about least honest, least well informed, least trustworthy person on the Middle East. I would take anything he says with a big grain of salt. Leeden wants a full blown war with Iran and will tell any lie to get it, just like he did with Iraq.
The trolls are hitting the PJ Media piece rather hard, and I’d expect the same over here on Freerepublic. Interesting how important this topic seems to be to the Left. Misdirection for US domestic political events taking place right now?
watching
Regime change in Iran would be epic for the USA, and more so for the people in Iran.
The Iranian public is the most pro-US in the Middle East (outside of Israel), while their Government is among the most anti-US in the world - the cause of so many problems in the Mid-East.
Restart Iran.
We never have and won’t now do anything to interfere on behalf of the protests.
Iran will continue to abuse its people until a full, shooting revolution starts. The Guards and Mullahs have pretty much full control and all the guns.
That's the way Trump, Bibi, and Mad Dog Mattis roll.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.