Iran's Dissidents Need Western Help

Wall Street Journal ^ | JUNE 11, 2010 | ILAN BERMAN

[Ooh-Ah]

Whatever happened to the Green Movement? A year after the fraudulent reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad galvanized a groundswell of popular outrage, protesters in the Islamic Republic are growing silent. This has led some observers to conclude that the country's counterrevolution has run its course.

But a closer reading of events shows a movement that is still viable, if beleaguered. Following the period of post-election turbulence, the Islamic Republic has, since last fall, retaken the offensive against its domestic opponents. It has tightened controls on the Internet, passed draconian legislation to regulate assorted "illegal" activities, and turned social networking services against their users. It has discredited and silenced opposition leaders, both secular and religious. And the regime has strengthened the power of its principal enforcer, the feared Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. As a result, the Green Movement has been forced underground. But its principles—and its passion—still endure.

One problem for the opposition is that Washington so far has been reluctant to weigh in on the struggle for Iran's soul. When the Green Movement coalesced last summer, the Obama administration was still in the throes of its ill-fated diplomatic outreach to the Islamic Republic. The White House remained largely silent in the face of the brutal suppression of peaceful protestors, fearing that vocal support for Iran's opposition would undermine any chance of cutting a nuclear deal with the ayatollahs.

Today, most policymakers in Washington have come to grips with the fact that "engagement" with Iran won't happen....

[jessduntno]

[Carley]

O is on the side of the despots.

[nuconvert]

pong