July
8, 2002 8:45 a.m. Turning
Point
History
being made. The West appears clueless.
wo
bombs were found last week in downtown Tehran, one in an automobile in
front of the Judiciary Ministry, the other at the intriguing "Council
of Deciding What is Best For the Government." Dozens of anti-government
organizations are calling for peaceful demonstrations on July 9, Tuesday,
the third anniversary of the monster student rally against the regime
at the university, and an army officer, thus far anonymous and perhaps
even apocryphal, is widely quoted as having said "if a million people
demonstrate July 9th we shall arrest the leaders of the Islamic Republic
and turn them over to the people."
That
is probably too much to hope for, given that the entire Western world
is actively appeasing the Iranian tyranny. The European Union recently
lifted trade sanctions on the Islamic Republic, and the misnamed U.N.
Human Rights Commission in Geneva failed to condemn Iran, even though
its many gross violations of human decency fill a fat dossier. The U.S.
Department of State, to its credit, puts Iran atop its annual list of
state sponsors of terrorism, and describes Iranian human-rights violations
in considerable detail. One marvels, therefore, at the combination of
silence from the top officials at the State Department and the National
Security Council and State's continued (not-so-secret contacts) with the
Iranian regime to talk about "cooperation" in Afghanistan (where
the Iranians are training and arming terrorists to subvert the fragile
government and kill western peacekeepers) and Iraq (where the Iranians
are happy to work with us in bringing down Saddam. But with allies like
that, who needs enemies?).
There is still a
day to go in which the American government can place itself firmly in
support of freedom for the Iranian people, who are groaning under a constantly
mounting repression from their ever more insecure regime. The mullahs
have become so paranoid that it is almost impossible to keep up with the
endless firings of those judged insufficiently loyal and their replacement
with the blindly faithful. As one Iranian friend pointed out to me, Iran
looks more and more like Saudi Arabia: Rafasnjani's son was just named
ambassador to Germany.
The paranoia goes
hand in hand with the widespread conviction that the regime could fall
at any moment. Part of the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran has been blocked
to public access, at least one landing strip has been closed to commercial
traffic, and a number of airplanes have been stationed on the tarmac.
It could well be that some of the regime's nastier rats are planning to
abandon the sinking ship if they are unable to contain the people's rage.
Indeed, in recent days private passengers have been removed from commercial
flights to make room for the families of the country's most powerful men,
suggesting that the exodus may have already begun.
Tehran is under virtual
military rule, with new security organizations seen in the streets carrying
out random roadblocks, arrests, and beatings. Similar reports are coming
in from other cities, although details are sparse. There are also reports
of governmental attacks on clandestine explosives deposits and manufacturing
sites.
Meanwhile, Saddam
has moved thousands of his best anti-Iranian terrorists, members of the
Iraqi Mujahedin, into Iran to carry out sabotage and attempt to inflame
the demonstrators (if Iran is going to work against Saddam, he'll certainly
do his damnedest to get them first). The Iranians, in return, have moved
troops, artillery and missiles to the Iraqi border, planning to assault
the Mujahedin camps if things get hot enough.
The whole region
is like a Colorado or Arizona landscape, a vast tinderbox waiting for
a spark to set it aflame. We hold matches galore: radio and television
stations, bully pulpits all over Washington, plenty of high-tech communications
toys that the Iranian opposition could use with devastating effect, and
money for the overwhelming majority of hard-working Iranians who today
cannot subsist on their salaries. Is there really no one in a position
of authority who understands the importance of our political and moral
voice at this potential turning point in Middle East history?
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wo
bombs were found last week in downtown Tehran, one in an automobile in
front of the Judiciary Ministry, the other at the intriguing "Council
of Deciding What is Best For the Government." Dozens of anti-government
organizations are calling for peaceful demonstrations on July 9, Tuesday,
the third anniversary of the monster student rally against the regime
at the university, and an army officer, thus far anonymous and perhaps
even apocryphal, is widely quoted as having said "if a million people
demonstrate July 9th we shall arrest the leaders of the Islamic Republic
and turn them over to the people." 
