Faster, Please! The Iranian Civil WarMarch 2, 2011 - 4:04 pm - by Michael Ledeen
Yesterday's demonstrations against the Iranian regime were smaller than those on
February 14th, but in fact they were both larger and more aggressive. The chants of
"Death to the dictator" are now quite specific: "
Death to Khamenei." They can
be heard at night in every Iranian city, and posters of the supreme leader are now
burned in the streets during the fighting for fighting it is.
Perhaps we will someday see photos from Google Earth, but, lacking that, we have
to go on eyewitnesses, with all the subjective limitations of such evidence, some videos,
and what we know about the regime's behavior, which is a far more reliable guide.
There were 617 arrests around the country I believe that is the number provided to
Khamenei and Ahmadinejad earlier today and
270 people were seriously wounded,
requiring medical attention (one of the uglier aspects of this regime is its use of ambulances
as paddy wagons and mobile punishment centers;
protesters are thrown in and then
beaten), and there are
two women in coma who will most likely not survive.
The regime armed its "security forces" with all manner of weaponry, from sawed-off
mafia-style shotguns to electric batons, tear gas, pepper spray and chains. Armored
personnel carriers were deployed, and helicopters were seen overhead at the peak
of the fighting. So concerned were the tyrants that they brought in outside forces
against the Iranian dissidents: Lebanese Hezbollah fighters (who deployed around
Khamenei's home) and, for the first time that I know of, young boys (15 years old
and younger, down to 10-11) from mostly rural religious schools, who had been told
they would be fighting infidels, and thus any level of violence was justified by divine
command. In addition, there were earthly rewards: $50 dollars each. If you look at
#iranelection on Twitter you'll find links to accounts of these young hoodlums, as well
as some personal accounts of their savagery.
They are in training for future jihads.
In short, the regime went all-in and could not intimidate the people. If anything,
the fighting was tougher than in the past, and both sides are sure there is more to come.
Demonstrators took to the streets in the major cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz,
Shiraz, Ahwaz, Rashd, Kermanshah and others. They were
not only calling for Khamenei's
death but also for the immediate release of Mousavi and Karroubi, the two Green leaders
who, along with their wives, were snatched from their homes last Thursday night. The four
have been moved from one "secure location" to another virtually every day.
The next round is scheduled for Tuesday the 8th.Meanwhile, the regime is doing its best to create the Persian equivalent of the Hermit
Kingdom. They want to isolate the Iranian people from the outside world, and to that
end they are striving to block or filter the social media, shut down international email,
and jam foreign satellite broadcasts (or at least destroy the many millions of satellite dishes).
They hope, in this way, to become the only source of information and doctrine, and the
campaign runs parallel to the intrusion of religious instructors and censors at all levels
of public education, the rewriting of the history books to eliminate references to the glories
of pre-Muslim Persia, and the vicious purge of the country's leading film makers and artists.
You know that famous satellite photo of the Korean peninsula, the one where the south is
all aglitter with lights and the north is virtually all dark? The mullahs want to turn off all
the cultural and informational lights except for a few that they control.
Big Brother would have approved. Except that it's too late.
The Iranians are too educated
and too informed to go quietly, and the regime?s campaign is doomed. Indeed, it is one
of those efforts that is too impotent to succeed, but just enough to get the people much angrier.
Which is yet another reason why the demonstrations are getting bigger and stronger.
One more time:
if the West supported the opposition we could be rid of this evil regime
and change the world. I know, believe me, that Obama doesn't want this to happen because he mistakenly believes that we do not have standing to challenge a regime
that quite understandably and even properly, in his view of things, hates us.
But one day he's going to send a message of congratulations to the new leaders of a free
Iran, and they're going to ask him where he's been, and why they should be happy to hear
from him.
What will he say, I wonder?
http://pajamasmedia.com/michaelledeen/2011/03/02/the-iranian-civil-war/
