Time for Thorns

If you find yourself in need of some good news regarding Iran, read  this.   One should not be surprised that His Oneness doesn’t grasp that the more internal strife there is inside Iran,  the more the mullahs will try to project an image of strength abroad.

And give full credit to the Iranian people who are standing up to their theocracy despite Obama having consigned them to the undercarriage section of the bus.     There is  live-blogging,  some  video and more  here and some thoughts from Michael Ledeen  here.

Iranians are still protesting about their rigged election despite the regime’s crackdown,  obviously choosing to ignore Obama’s rejection of their fight for democracy.  Hundreds are still missing from the first rounds of protests.

Fareed ZaKaria thinks a fatal wound has already been inflicted on the rulers’ ideology,  while Michael Rubin notes protests alone won’t topple them.   And there is silence from the Arab world.

I do find it interesting that one of the ayatollahs has issued a fatwa against the regime.    Iranian protesters are boycotting mobile phone giant Nokia,  which they accuse of providing the government with the capability to tap mobile telephones,  scramble the SMS text messages used by many protesters to communicate,  and interrupt calls.

Michael Ledeen reminds us of two critical things to remember about Iran.    I’m not sure His Oneness really understands either of them.

UPDATE:  Even the WaPo has sensible  advice for His Oneness on Iran,  as  does the New York Post.

We still don’t know how many protesters were out yesterday,  and there was no sign of Mousavi,  but the regime arrested some Iranians who work at the British Embassy.    Read David Pryce-Jones for his take.

As to what will happen to the official number of 451 who have been arrested,  never mind the thousands of others also said to be under arrest,  listen to  someone arrested during the Iranian student demonstrations a decade ago.

I don’t imagine Eli Lake’s musings on what our spies don’t know about Iran will surprise anyone who knows that only 20% of our C.I.A. actually works abroad.     The Wall Street Journal has a related column on our intelligence decline since liberals professed higher moralism in the 1970’s.    As Gabriel Schoenfeld so aptly puts it,  “We are thus paying the price of running covert operations even as we gain absolutely none of the benefits.”

I think Fareed Zakaria is right in his view that this uprising won’t succeed,  but that the regime is wounded, perhaps fatally.    He believes Obama has taken the proper  cautious approach,  while I think it took him much to long to react with even the mildest support of democracy.

The regime has cracked down hard.    We will never know how many have died,   how many were wounded,  but the news will dribble out over the months.    Some video here and  here if you can bear to watch.

The mullahs have arrested every opposition leader they could find, and are using Chinese techniques to scan videos of the crowd to identify people,  then send goon squads to arrest them.

Even thought the streets are generally clear,  the hacktivists are still working their keyboards like mad,  with some success.  There are some reports of an evening crowd off about 3,000 being met with tear gas and batons.    Obama remains a pillar of timidity,   apparently still hoping to cut some sort of deal with Iran.    William Tate  asks who will stand for freedom if the U.S.  President will not.   The former Prime Minister of Spain has a fine piece on the consequences for Iran of our silence.

James Lewis exquisitely  excoriates Obama as  “the little president who wasn’t there.”     Ann Coulter is less elegant,  but just as effective in her blast.    Anne Bayefsky is equally  scathing

Read what an Iranian woman has to say about the movie,  The Stoning of Soraya M. and about the lefty  elites who say nothing in the face of such evil.    Then brace up with some of the always no-nonsense John Bolton on regime change.

Finish with some wicked political  cartoons.

The protestors  still appear, despite the danger.   The regime admits more than a dozen were killed Wednesday.   Some posts on Twitter refer to government forces swinging axes,  hacking at people,  rivers of blood.     More journalists have been arrested,  and jails are stuffed to overflowing.    The hospitals already were.    Human Rights Watch reports that a notoriously abusive prosecutor has been put in charge of the investigation of detained reformist leaders and party officials.

It’s important to realize that the rest of the world doesn’t think like Americans do.    Remember that much of what the citizens know of us is from movies and books,   rude American tourists,  stupid movie stars and corrupt politicians — or as much of those things as their leaders allow them to be exposed to.    Some of us are all of those things,  and many are none of them.    The same is true of other peoples.     Not everyone would rejoice if Iran became a secular state,  or if the regime were toppled,  but many would.

For some valuable assistance in understanding Iran and its government,  try the recommendations here and this Michael Rubin piece.    Rubin also uses the memorable term  “diplomatic malpractice” to describe the current administration and its State Department.

Despite all this,  Amir Taheri sees some signs of hope. but clashes are  reported around the Parliament,    Mousavi’s wife says Iran is under martial law,  and a protestor pleads for more international pressure on the regime.

Charles Krauthammer absolutely guts Obama on Iran and freedom.    It’s  not quite a break from the monumental events in Iran,  but he summarily executes the president’s moral pretensions.     If you can’t tear yourself away from the tv,  at least bookmark it for later reading.

We may now know why Obama came out of the starting gate on Iran like a snail anxious to avoid razor blades.    The Washington Times reports that His Oneness set a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei before the election,  calling for an improvement in relations,  according to the Supreme Leader himself.

Andy McCarthy’s post on The Corner has the link,   plus some information on just how mad the mullah is.    And what are we to think of our own supreme leader,  who obviously thinks he’s clever and/or charming enough to cut deals with a lunatic who’s also a religious zealot?

I begin to wonder if we have a nut-job ourselves.     And  I am not comforted by the fact that His Oneness has already released a terrorist responsible for the brutal murders of 5 American soldiers in exchange for the remains of 2 deceased British hostages.    Obama knows a lot about the Chicago way and political salesmanship,  but nothing about negotiations in the real world.    I’m beginning to wonder if he even lives in it,  or is more than periphirally aware of it.

Another Tehran family mourns the loss of a child.   And though the crowds are greatly diminished,  the protesters still come out,  despite the beatings and arrests and deaths and threats.

The Atlantic has a tidy little primer on internet surveillance and Iran and the Internet.    The BBC has a fascinating analysis of the votes supposedly cast.    Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has accused the Beeb,  the Voice of America and CNN of pursuing the “weakening of Iran’s unity”,  and charged that CNN has trained people to hack his government’s web sites.    Well,  those sites are being hacked like mad, but not by CNN.    Some of the internet warriors are amateurs,  but some are a much different kettle of fish altogether,  and more power to all of them for their efforts.

Iran is also accusing the UN of meddling — the charge His Oneness is so terrified of.

But I must admit Obama’s current statement is much better  – it’s here if you want to read it.    I did bristle at the wholly unnecessary statement affirming the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic,  though I suppose it’s reflective of Obama’s eternal desire to have it both ways on everything.

If you aren’t familiar with Iran Rights,  go here.    It’s a highly informative site that pulls no punches.

End with political cartoons,  here and  here.     But remember that Iranian diplomats are still invited to US embassies for July 4th celebrations…

UPDATE:   CNN announced on Wednesday that the July 4th invitation has been rescinded.    Oh my — how impressive.

Aside from the fact that if Obama were Bush and golfing in the midst of the Iranian crisis he would be pilloried by the media,   I found his explanation of why he golfs interesting.    First he says it’s because he gets to be outdoors,  then at the end:  “…But getting out of the confines of this place is, uh, I find useful.”    This is the second time I’ve read of his finding the White  House confining.    I’m sure that it is in a certain sense,  but the average American is going to have difficulty imagining feeling terribly constrained while living in a 55,000 square foot mansion with a full complement of staff.

I started laughing when Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claimed that his boss had been “moved” by the Iranian protests.  The only emotion I have discerned from his bland statements on the uprising has been irritation that the protesters were scribbling in green crayon on his diplomatic road map.    David Podvin takes a far less charitable view,  and I don’t disagree with his basic premise that progressivism breeds violence.

The C.I.A. had an influx of Nazis after World War II,  and has long had a preference for dealing with tyrants  –  after all,   if you have the tyrant on your payroll,  you have the country.    His Oneness has the same preference,   but I think it’s because he considers government the proper power to run the world.    Individual freedom is an impediment to his goals,   which is one reason he’s pushing the so-called hate crimes legislation.    Remember that the goal of any totalitarian regime is to make it impossible for any citizen to go about his daily life without violating some regulation or law.

Once broad enough hate crimes laws are in place,   the government can claim anything it dislikes is the basis for a hate crime charge.    There will be a presumption of guilt,   not innocence,  and how can you prove you were not thinking “bad” thoughts?     That’s why hate crimes laws are actually thought crimes laws,  and so dangerous.

The House has already passed H.R.1913,  but pick up your phone,   or move your mouse and tell your senators to vote against  S. 909.    It was no accident,  or mere misunderstanding,  that the House Democrats voted down this simple amendment :

“The term sexual orientation as used in this act or any amendments to this act does not include pedophilia.”

Read Rep.  Alcee Hastings’  reason for defeating the amendment and supporting the bill.

Now get busy!

The BBC reports sporadic and scattered protests, and on an interview with the fiance of the young woman,  Neda Agha-Soltan,  who has become the face of the protests after being shot dead.   Paulo Coelho’s blog has video and words from his friend, the doctor trying to revive her.

Check out this excerpt of a CNN interview with a man who obviously has much better ideas about dealing with Iran than His Oneness can muster.   Daniel Pipes zeroes in on the one item curiously missing from the post-election crisis,  and Christopher Hitchens explains the eternal — and convenient — paranoia of Iran.

And finish with a wonderfully cutting political cartoon.