Obama has an interesting take on the idea of victory. Watch (and by the way, kudos to the journalist asking the question): To hear this question and then go immediately to a sports metaphor is surpassingly strange, and deeply revealing … Continue reading →
It very well could be, if (and it’s a big “if”) Michael Ledeen is correct in his assessment of the situation there [emphasis mine]: When a tyrannical regime dies, you can see the symptoms in the little things. Late Friday … Continue reading →
…to call Ahmadinejad a liar? Emboldened by recent events (you can take your pick as to what they might be, there are so many to choose from), Iran’s President makes his most unequivocal statement of Holocaust denial so far: Mr. … Continue reading →
If true,
Continue reading →In the New Republic, Leon Wieseltier criticizes the weakness of Obama’s support for the Iranian protesters. Wieseltier correctly points out that by his tepid response, Obama refused to take the leadership role that would have meant a great deal to … Continue reading →
Here’s the face of the mullahs in charge of Iran, in case they hadn’t revealed it clearly enough already: Khatami, a member of the powerful Assembly of Experts, said the judiciary should charge the leading “rioters” as “mohareb” or one … Continue reading →
If anyone had any lingering doubt about the intentions of Iran’s leaders towards the demonstrators, today’s reports of brutality would certainly resolve them. Will the cycle of demonstrations and crackdowns continue, or will the protesters be cowed? And either way, … Continue reading →
Some in Obama’s camp seem to think that the protests in Iran were precipitated, or at the very least encouraged, by Obama’s words in his Cairo speech. Not the actual living breathing example of the dawn of freedom and democracy … Continue reading →
By now you’ve heard the story of Neda Agha-Soltan, killed last weekend in a demonstration in Iran, and seen her photos—alive, dying, and dead. Her fiance and witnesses report that she was purposely targeted by Baseji paramilitaries who shot her … Continue reading →
What’s going on in Iran right now is the result of many forces coming together. But I have little doubt that the most powerful of them are specific to Iran and its people rather than being international in scope. The … Continue reading →
Yes, I know—the unrest in Iran right now can hardly be called a revolution, and there’s a good chance it may never rise to that level, although one can hope. But there is no question that the widespread protests that … Continue reading →
Two days ago I wrote a post speculating on whether Mousavi was a “changer.” I didn’t know the answer, and I still don’t know. But I wrote: …the reasons for Mousavi’s retirement from the public scene in 1989 are mysterious … Continue reading →