In its Views section today, Inside Hire Ed has an interesting article on the American and European left’s reluctance to make common cause with the dissidents and Islamic refuseniks in Iran today. Although the writer, Scott McLemee, and his interview subject, author and editor Danny Postel, both appear to be left-liberals, they note the irony of today’s political left refusing to claim “solidarity” with the anti-religious fundamentalist forces in Iran. Postel argues convincingly that this phenomenon is occurring because the current Iranian dissidents are not the victims of a U.S.-backed client state, unlike the anti-Shah opposition of the 1960s-70s. Although Postel also lambastes neoconservatives — particularly their support for military action against Iran — he cogently notes the hypocrisy of today’s leftist silence of support for the anti-Ahmadinejad faction in Iran today.