Regime propagandists are a constant presence at Tehran Bureau and Enduring America (see “Manoucher” and “Mark”). Their Sisyphus-like assignment is to convince us that a majority of Iranians still “love” a system that lets Iranians choose between two unpalatable alternatives–either secular fascism or clerical fascism. Of course, Ira nians could care less that their allegedly (key word) popular rulers have “achieved” the impossible–converting a potentially rich country into both an economic poorhouse at home and a North Korea-like pariah outside its borders.
The Iranian majority– screwed, brutalized and impoverished and humiliated by religious police at the same time–still goes gaga over the system. They are different from human beings elsewhere in not wanting political, social or civil freedoms or economic prosperity. So the world is informed. Of course, such systems always have defenders. Invariably these defenders always come from the insider clique that keeps everyone else down.
Consider the two options available to Iranians come elections. The only real difference is that the secular fascists tolerate substantial social freedoms (providing Iranians demand nothing more) while the clerical fascists even dictate what clothes you can wear or how to part your hair. In all other respects both “choices” are identical–equally murderous, corrupt, selfish and incompetent. For appearance sake, the regime may permit a a sprinking only of the most tepid reformers but ONLY a sprinking. Given such fakery and mummery, elections are as meaningless as Soviet elections in which Breshnez won 99% of the vote.
Khadaffi’s Libya, Assad’s Syria, Brezhnev’s Russia and the hereditary communist monarchy of North Korea made the same rediculous claims of “popularity.” None would have survived truely free and open election–the best way to prove popularity. Ditto for Iran. Hence don’t expect to see one.
