Iranian Boldness is needed, not American boldness

Submitted by Pat (United States), Jun 24, 2009 at 20:15

Most people want Iranians to be free and prosperous but do we mean the same things when we use such words? Mousavi claims to oppose the hardliners but he doesn't want to upend Khomeini's revolution. He doesn't want to change religious government. What about the people? Do they want a free and pluralistic society or do they just want the mullahs off their backs? Do the people want an end to the nuclear program or would they be fine with Israel being wiped off the map, so long as they themselves were allowed to live in peace inside their own country?

If the people want an end to Islamic rule and a society where all are at peace with one another, it's not coming through in the news reports. It's hard to see this kerfuffle as anything more than Islamist infighting. The people are citing Islam to justify their protests. Mousavi is ready for martyrdom. It sounds like Islamism is alive and well in Iran and all that needs to be decided is who will lead this revolutionary government for the next thirty years.

Maryam Rajavi says the West "can stop the nuclear program if it stands up to the mullahs". To that I ask: and why should we have to? Where are the Iranian people? Where have they been for the last thirty years? How about the last eight? What have the Iranian people done to merit any action by the West on their behalf? This is their country and their government. Let THEM stop the nuclear program. Let the Iranian nuclear scientists stand up to the mullahs. Let the suppliers and engineers stand up to the mullahs. Let the universities stand up to the mullahs. Iran is a sovereign nation. Let the people exercise that sovereignty and then let them accept responsibility for their actions. Don't blame the West for Iranian malfeasance, suggesting it is up to us to stop them. It's not. We've tried in the past and been roundly condemned for interfering in Iranian internal affairs. Either we're the great satan or we're not. They can't have it both ways.

As I see it, America has no dog in this fight. It's an Iranian affair and Iranians need to pick sides and decide what they want. Independence can be inconvenient. It makes you responsible for your own actions. Under no circumstances should we in the West accept any responsibility for the outcome in Iran.

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