Posted on 06/18/2009 4:57:39 AM PDT by Scanian
TEHRAN, Iran -- Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in quiet defiance on the fifth day of post-election chaos yesterday, setting the stage for a showdown today with the increasingly worried hard-liners.
Trying to stem the uprising, Iran's "supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called in representatives of all four candidates in the dubious election, in an effort to quell the angry protests that threaten the 30-year-old Islamic regime.
Khamenei, who backed extremist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, has not been seen in a week but is expected to plead for calm tomorrow. Officials said he will make a rare appearance leading Friday prayers in Tehran.
Today, pro-reform activists plan a rally to mourn "martyrs" gunned down by regime thugs at this week's protests.
Among the latest developments:
* Ahmadinejad opponents cited proof of the rigged election, including figures that showed more than 30 Iranian towns cast more votes than they had registered voters.
One town, Taft, had a turnout of 141 percent, an opposition Web site said. Another town, Kouhrang, had 132 percent.
Government officials said there was a record 85 percent turnout nationally.
* At least 500 political activists, journalists and students were reported to have been arrested during the government's post-election crackdown.
Among those seized yesterday was Saeed Laylaz, editor of the business daily Sarmayeh, who warned last week that Iran could be headed for a post-election bloodbath.
* Iran accused the United States for the first time of "intolerable" meddling in the crisis.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
* Ahmadinejad opponents cited proof of the rigged election, including figures that showed more than 30 Iranian towns cast more votes than they had registered voters.
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Wow! A-jad must’ve called in ACORN for help.
After eight years of Reagan, in the fall of 1989, the Soviet empire came down. After eight years of Bill Clinton, in September of 2001, the WTC was destroyed. Could the teetering and possible collapse of the Iranian Theocracy be Bush’s legacy? We’ll know in the Fall.
“One town, Taft, had a turnout of 141 percent, an opposition Web site said. Another town, Kouhrang, had 132 percent”
Did ACORN open up a branch in these towns ?
In Iran it's AHCORN.
So far you are the only one I have seen that understands that there may more to this than meets the eye. I was thinking the same.
The phone rang at 3AM- no one is willing to answer it yet.
This ends one of 2 ways depending on the attitude of the current govt.
1. The Chinese option. Take a hard line. Send in the tanks and kill enough demonstraters to get your point across. Effective but requires a brutal and ruthless govt willing to kill its own people to stay in power.
2. The Russian Option. Concede to some demands and hope to stay in power as long as possible. Requires a govt not willing to kill thousands to stay in control. Once the people see the govt will not kill them, they make more and more demands until they force the current leaders from power. Hopefully one day we can call this the “American Option”.
Good analysis, but you forgot the Rumanian Option, which is “brutally repress the people and still end up shot dead in a gutter”
In 1979 the mullahs hijacked the Iranian Revolution.
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Different times. Different technologies. I am certainly no expert, but, based on what I have read, it seems that there is a huge segment of the population that is young, hip, pro-West, and itching to get out from the oppression of the ayatollahs. Plus they have technology that allows them to connect with the outside world, so that they know the truth about the Great Satan and not what they are told at the mosque.
My money is on the Persian spirit. Rise up, Persians! Be free!
In Iran it’s AHCORN.
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LOL!
We had almost a million at the Tea Parties. However, we were spread out across the nation so it didn't look like so much.
FYI: I was in Iran when the Khoimeni took over.
Hey Iranians. Islam IS the problem. Destroy the mosques and hang the Imams and Ayahtollahs and you’ll be 90% down the road toward a solution to all of your problems.
We had more than that when the illegals took to the streets shouting, “Today we march, tomorrow we vote.”
Correct analysis. Wish we had a State Department and President who knew how to manage this.
Send in the Shah.
exactly my point....1 day of protests by smaller crowds across the country mean nothing to them....we need large scale continuous protests...
Then the climate was for liberty, but the mullahs hijacked it. You are correct. Now, it is the mullah’s turn, who is in a position to hijack it?
No one outside of the military could and they will not get a Iraqi style government without some sort of military intervention.
You assume the council of mullahs is united. I'm getting the impression that there are factions within the ruling circle, each with a preferred candidate that will support their faction. What has all of them terrified is the possibility that a rebellion might sweep them ALL away.
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