Tunisia
Lebanon
Jordan
Yemen
Egypt
On Obama’s watch, these nations are falling under Iran’s control, providing an opportunity to unite the muslim world against the west, something Bush tried to avoid by democratizing Iraq and Afghanistan.
If it comes to pass, a united muslim world will quickly overtake Europe, given their population mix.
Then, the muslim world (with covert assistance from China) will turn its sights on the United States.
300 million versus 1.2 billion
We will again fuel the fires of SETBACK and DEFEAT, yes!
obama refused to help the protesters in Iran because they were trying to throw out a muslim regime, he wants to help the Egyptian ones because they want to install a muslim regime.
Deja vu all over again:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/16/newsid_2530000/2530475.stm
Timeline: Iran
1979: Shah of Iran flees into exile. The Shah of Iran has fled the country following months of increasingly violent protests against his regime.
The Shah never returned to Iran. He died in exile in Egypt in 1980. Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran on 1 February after 14 years’ exile.
He threw out Dr Bahktiar’s government on 11 February and, after a referendum, declared an Islamic Republic on 1 April.
Khomeini guided his country’s revolutionary social, legal, and political development until his death in 1989.
He presided over the country during the Iran/Iraq war, only reluctantly agreeing a ceasefire. He also issued a fatwa against author Salman Rushdie.
Two decades later, liberals ushered in a period of transformation with their election victory in 2000 over the conservative elite.
But reformist president Mohammad Khatami was at odds with hardliners, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and failed to make good on his promises.
He was replaced by the ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2005.
President Bush declared Iran part of an “axis of evil” in 2002. Washington accused Tehran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons,although Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
Tehran resumed its uranium conversion process in 2005, provoking a diplomatic showdown with the international community.
Yes, overall, it is reminiscent of 1979 in Iran.
However: The article asks “Did Banisadr and Ghotbzadeh think they were replacing the shah of Iran with a theocracy?”
Well, No, those people were not replacing the Shah in Iran at all. An Ayatollah KHOMEINI was. Iranian revolution of 1979 had a clear Leader, it was Khomeini.
Who is the leader of the so-called ‘revolution’ in Egypt & Tunisia? I know there are speculations, but no one person has so far emerged. Or, have I missed something?
Alternative, clear & popular support as Khomeini had, as an overall LEADER, around 1978-1979 was VERY SIGNIFICANT. So was his long desired installation of an Islamic Republic a la “Velayat-e Faghih” (his doctrine of “the rule/guardianship of Islamic Jurisprudence” - IOW, “the rule of Islamic Clerics”).
There was never going to be a leadership vaccum, nor an absence of an alternative system of gov’t to monarchy, as a result of the Shah’s overthrow or departure in Iran in 1979.
Both Iranians & foreign gov’t knew with whom they had to deal after the Shah’s departure. Carter administration had been in contact & negotiations with Khomeini & his supporters, apparently, months before the Shah’s departure from Iran!
With whom has the Obama administration been negotiating regarding Tunisia, Egypt, and what seems to be a “domino-effect’ of unrest in the ME so far?