Democracy Movement in Iran is Waiting for its Tipping Point

Fire of Liberty

Michael Ledeen has a good piece over @ National Review Online on the situation in Iran and how the State Department and the White House seems to have slacked off in effectively promoting democracy in Iran. As Ledeen notes, the terror masters of Iran poses a greater threat to the democratic movements in Iraq and Lebanon because it whole-heartedly supports and trains the various terrorists who are wreaking havoc in Iraq as well as the support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is the most blood soaked terrorists in the Muslim world. Along with the training and support of these terrorists, the Iranian government continues its crackdown to stifle all types of opposition that traverse the streets of the various cities in the ancient Persian nation. Just read what Ledeen has to say about the horrible Tiananmen Square like crack-down that the regime has participated in these past months:

Worst of all, from the standpoint of the terror masters, the ultimate threat — freedom — is growing stronger, just as the president wishes, and freedom is spreading even though, despite his constant promises to support democratic revolution, he is doing virtually nothing to help it. He, along with Secretaries Rice and Rumsfeld, has not rallied to the side of the Iranian people, even though the Iranians have abundantly demonstrated their desire to be rid of the mullahs. Two weeks ago there were massive demonstrations and work stoppages in the oil-rich regions, centering around the city of Ahwaz. The demonstrators called for an end to the regime, scores of people were killed, and hundreds were beaten and arrested. On May Day, workers again demonstrated against the regime, this time in all the major cities. In Tehran, strongman and likely president-in-waiting Hashemi Rafsanjani was hooted down by the crowd, and pictures of him and Supreme Leader Khamenei were torn down and trampled. Yet no one in the American Government spoke a word of support for the demonstrators, and no one has yet endorsed the one thing that unites the overwhelming majority of Iranians, whatever their political proclivities: a national referendum on the legitimacy of the regime itself. If there were a national ballot on the single question "Do you want an Islamic republic?" the regime would pass into history overnight. But there is silence in official Washington.

The anti-Rafsanjani demonstrations are very important, because Rafsanjani will soon formally declare his candidacy for the presidency. Elections are scheduled for June, and the regime is desperate to "prove" its standing with the people. To that end, they will use force and trickery to produce a huge voter turnout. They will compel all government employees and all military personnel to go to the polls, and they will spread rumors (if you don't vote, you'll never get an exit visa; if you don't vote, your family members will be punished, etc.) to bring the unwilling to vote. The mullahs know that many millions of Iranians plan to boycott the elections, in a kind of silent demonstration of contempt.

What seems to be amiss is that the Bush administration seems to have slacked off in our active participation of supporting the fight for freedom and democracy in Iran. Through the various reports from the bloggers, dissidents, and available news sources within Iran, the White House and the State Department should have a well of information that the Fire of Liberty has been burning in the souls of the young people of Iran (70% of the 65 million people are under 30) for a considerable amount of time and are waiting for more than a statement about our support but some actual moves on our part. It's time for us to beef up our moral, political and diplomatic support for the various dissidents and true-democrats and not those who are quoted as "reformers" by certain members of the media and diplomatic core. The democratic movement within and outside of Iran needs a Cold-War like commitment (Poland) from this nation to ensure that they are not forced to live more decades under the mullah's jack-boot.

The President and Secretary Rice need to publicly support the people of Iran by spotlighting the horrors of the regime, inviting various dissidents of the mullah's regime to the White House, pointing out the various democratic movement's leaders within Iran to let the regime know we are watching and these people and it would be in the mullah's best interests to leave them alone (Such worked with Natan Sharansky, Andrei Sakarov, Lech Walesa, Havel and various other Soviet Dissidents) and we need to restart the US Information Agency to help ensure that the people in Iran get the various works on democracy and freedom that was very helpful to the various dissidents during the Cold-War (Radio Farsi is a joke at the moment because it's more top 40 and not NPR like (Information wise not the lefty politics)). Luckily, the young people have mastered their own underground press through the Internet, text messengers, blogs, as well as the various dissident pro-democracy TV programs that are beamed to Iran via satellite.

Though they might have these technological wonders, this democratic movement in Iran needs President Bush to give them help to shove aside the mullah. Unlike Iraq, the regime in Tehran can be knocked off its pedestal by the people of Iran if the leadership of the US just devotes more energy to support the democratic movement in Iran. Though we are focused on Iran's nukes and the current E3 negotiations over scrapping this program, the best way to ensure that the mullah's never use them is to get rid of the regime. A peaceful democracy is far better than a terrorist state with nukes and ties to Hezbollah. So get off your duff and pass forward another flame of freedom into one more darkened corner in the Outposts of Tyranny.

After reading Ledeen's piece, I found this article in The Financial Times that seems to show that someone in the Bush White House or Dr. Rice staff have been reading Mr. Ledeen's work. I just wished the number was in the 100's of millions instead of a paltry $3 million.