Re: [Pen-l] A velvet revolution in Iran?

[Jim Devine <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

me:
>> didn't Seymour Hersh have an article in the NEW YORKER about the US
>> sending commandos into Iran to mess things up?

Sabri:
> Anyone from my region, even without knowing the details, knows that
> the US is doing a lot in the region to mess things up. ...

I was using the words "mess up" to refer to sabotage and possible
assassinations.

> I am sure among those who took to the streets in
> Iran there are servants of the US and I am very suspicious of that
> Moussavi fellow a great deal, but I don't think this is a "velvet
> revolution." Money cannot mobilize that many people and buy their
> lives, because once you lose your life, money does not matter anymore.

I'd guess that the mass movements are real (rather than being
orchestrated by the "West").  They are, as far as I can tell, largely
middle-class and above, which means that their victories (if they have
any) would not just be in terms of extending democracy (including
women's rights). It would also involve "free market" policies.  As I
understand it, Mr. Ahmadinejad won a lot of votes in the past by
opposing neoliberal policies.

In addition, though the grass-roots protest is not a product of the
West, Western governments, NGOs, media, etc. typically work hard to
make them act _as if_ they were so, by offering aid with the
inevitable strings attached. The West would also be pushing Iran to
make nice to Israel, even if it contradicts the
democratically-expressed will of the people; this involves cutting
ties with Hamas and Hezbollah and of course toeing the official line
on nukes (which somehow excludes Israel from sanctions for violating
non-proliferation agreements).

> I suggest that rather than wasting your time on such a topic, you
> Western leftists should think about what you should do in your own
> countries first. ...

of course. If you want us to fix our own countries first, you have to
promise to not criticize USAniks for their ignorance of the rest of
the world. More seriously, events outside of the US have major impacts
inside the country, so it's important for us to pay attention to them.
Further, it's important to provide appropriate solidarity; the
movement for socialist democracy will necessarily be international in
nature. This solidarity involves keeping the US government from
sending commandos into other countries, subordinating the IMF/World
Bank to international democracy, etc.

-- 
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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