[controversy] An election was held in Iran. Yes. An election. One of those Western Democratic process thingies.
The result that was announced was that Ahmedinajad won. Funnily enough, before the election, all the smart money was on Ahmedinajad to win. The man had developed a cult, as dictators often do, and few in the know predicted anything other than his re-election by a landslide.
The opposition claim it was rigged.
They would, wouldn't they? Mousavi - the main opposition leader is less radical than Ahmedinajad. Read - "nicer than Attila the Hun". High praise indeed
Many of you young'uns may have forgotten the condemnation of Mousavi's appalling regime when he was in charge (don't forget, Ahmedinajad was elected
after Iran was declared part of GW Bush's "Axis of Evil").
While in power, Mousavi was routinely accused (by the west) of corruption, oppression, censorship and vote-rigging. Before Ahmedinajad came along, he was demonised as a despotic totalitarian, and with evidence to back that up.
Oddly, while this was until recently reflected in unfavourable online sources (wikipedia showing a startling range of edits in recent months), he is now depicted as farting Chanel No. 5, bringing drowned kittens back to life and rivalling Oprah Winfrey in the sainthood stakes.
1. Q. Do I believe the election was rigged? A. Probably. They always have been since the Shah was deposed in '79
2. Q. Is Ahmedinajad using Basij thugs to suppress opposition? A. Yep. Just as Mousavi did when he held the reins.
3. Q. Do I sympathise with the Iranian people? A. Hell Yes.
4. Q. Is Obama playing this sensibly? A. I think so.
5. Q. Will I be turning my avatar green or my posting location to 'Tehran' as a meaningless token of solidarity? A. F
Uck off.
I am old and smelly enough to remember the huge support and fundraising in USA and Europe for the brave and noble Taleban when they were fighting those nasty Russians in Afghanistan, and the money, armaments and chemicals we handed willingly to Saddam Hussein when he fought our worthy cause in the Iran/Iraq war.
I fervently believe that the Iranian people are going through the pain of a fundamentalist regime that's setting its sights on provoking the West and/or Israel into military action.
I also believe that the mobilisation of pro-Ahmedinajad fan-bois is no more sinister than the mobilisation of pro-Mousavi protesters. It's political manipulation and I won't get sucked into a do-gooder simplistic assumption that the opposition movement is a force for good.
What pisses me off is that Ahmedinajad only got into power because of Bush's demonisation of Iran. Until the "Axis of Evil" speech, he was nobody. His election campaign was 90% based on his citing Bush's ill-informed venom and it was that, and that alone that raised his profile.
Please, Western Leaders. Don't do it again
[/controversy] Be careful what you wish for.
Bookmark that
Shit.