Death to Dictatorship: U.S. Must Support Revolution in Iran

By Nicholas Guariglia

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets chanting “Death to the dictatorship!” and “We want freedom!” Some accounts have said the number of protesters could be as high as three million. In retaliation, the regime has blocked cell phone service and text messaging, shut down gas stations, and blocked Facebook, YouTube, and other networking Web sites. Certain television stations and opposition newspapers have been shut down - to which Ahmadinejad coldly replied, “Newspapers come and go. Don’t worry about it.” Foreign journalists have been kicked out of the country. Revolutionary Guard thugs have taken to the streets as well, as have regime-loyalist Basij paramilitaries who are out in full force beating, clubbing, machete-slicing, tear-gassing, shooting, arresting, and killing the protesters. One report said upwards of 100 people were killed in Tehran alone. That number is unconfirmed, however. Should these protests be nurtured and encouraged to proceed to their logical conclusion, this could turn into the best development to come out of the Middle East in sixty years. Should the protesters and rioters be aided, our greatest adversary could become one of our greatest allies overnight. This is a perfect opportunity to advantageously exploit. But how is the United States responding? [more...]