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David Ignatius: This Is for Real
The Washington Post ^ | Friday, June 19, 2009

Posted on 06/18/2009 3:47:44 PM PDT by lewisglad

What's happening on the streets of Tehran is a lesson in what makes history: It isn't guns or secret police, in the end, but the willingness of hundreds of thousands of people to risk their lives to protest injustice. That is what overthrew the shah of Iran in 1979, and it is now shaking the mullahs.

This is politics in the raw -- unarmed people defying soldiers with guns -- and it is the stuff of which revolutions are made. Whether it will succeed in Iran is impossible to predict, but already this movement has put an overconfident regime on the ropes.

The regime must be frightened of the forces it has unleashed. The more it attacks its own people, the more vulnerable it becomes.

If you take a step back, you can see a similar process of ferment across the Muslim world these days. Muslim parties and their allies have suffered election setbacks over the past several years in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco and Pakistan.

The most extreme group of all, al-Qaeda, has alienated former supporters everywhere it has tried to put down roots.

The reasons for these political setbacks vary from place to place. In some countries, Muslim radicals have overreached and created a public backlash; in others, they have been seen as timid and corrupt

The simple fact is that Iran's repressive rulers have overplayed their hand. By manipulating the election results, they have created a popular backlash. Iranians now are voting with their feet, and with their blood. The regime blames Western meddling; they should be so lucky. This is real

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: iran; mullahs; studentmovement
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To: Sir Gawain
Imagine 1 million armed Americans on the streets of DC.

Reported by the MSM as 150 clingers

21 posted on 06/18/2009 4:36:53 PM PDT by Popman (Joe Biden REALLY can't be Vice President, can he ?)
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To: lewisglad

God bless these people in their quest for freedom. I relish the day when fed-up Americans take to the streets too!


22 posted on 06/18/2009 4:40:03 PM PDT by cblue55
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Comment #23 Removed by Moderator

To: Churchillspirit; lewisglad
"The pen is mightier than the sword".

Only when the sword is very short and the pen is very sharp. :-)

24 posted on 06/18/2009 4:47:52 PM PDT by Ramius (Personally, I give us... one chance in three. More tea?)
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To: jeltz25
"Will Hezbollah and Hamas really sit by and do nothing while their patron is removed?"

They're not - they're the ones out there beating on the people.

25 posted on 06/18/2009 4:48:10 PM PDT by jackibutterfly
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To: editor-surveyor

“...Imagine the Bonus Army...”
-
The 1932 march of the “Bonus Army” was suppressed by U.S. Army troops under the leadership of Douglas MacArthur and George S. Patton.


26 posted on 06/18/2009 4:59:02 PM PDT by Repeal The 17th (When the time comes, right thinking men will know what to do.)
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To: lewisglad

The government-run media in Iran is now powerless to shape events. The same fate awaits the US government media.


27 posted on 06/18/2009 5:00:41 PM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: lewisglad

The pen may be mightier than the sword but when the conflict moves to the streets, I’d prefer a rifle


28 posted on 06/18/2009 5:11:58 PM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: lewisglad

It makes me sick that the POTUS won’t get behind this movement for freedom in Iran. An opportunity like this only comes once in a generation and he won’t even so much as praise them for their courage. 0bama, you are one pathetic, thumb-sucking, bedwetting little turd. Resign now.

As bad as Biden is, I somehow believe, were he the POTUS, he’d at least give them a verbal pat on the back. 0bama is truly and unequivocally hopeless.


29 posted on 06/18/2009 5:21:21 PM PDT by ScottinVA (Impeach President Soros!!!)
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To: lewisglad

Ya know, we need to start the drumbeat amongst ourselves that this Iranian freedom movement is a direct result of President Bush’s efforts in Iraq. He showed them the way, so to speak.

It would drive the Bush-haters completely insane.


30 posted on 06/18/2009 5:27:25 PM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: paul51

In the streets I might prefer a pump shotgun. A rifle is for long range work.


31 posted on 06/18/2009 5:38:52 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Change has come to America and all hope is gone.)
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To: RipSawyer

with a rifle I have close or long options. With a shotgun, my range is limited. If I had to choose one, it’s the rifle. Either is better than a pen


32 posted on 06/18/2009 5:45:00 PM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: lewisglad

Tell me that woman doesn’t have Five O’Clock shadow!


33 posted on 06/18/2009 7:08:58 PM PDT by Hoosier-Daddy ("It does no good to be a super power if you have to worry what the neighbors think." BuffaloJack)
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To: USMA '71

True dat. Was thinking the same exact thing.


34 posted on 06/18/2009 7:22:21 PM PDT by Hoosier-Daddy ("It does no good to be a super power if you have to worry what the neighbors think." BuffaloJack)
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