 Dean's
deathwish
What Dean and the Democrats
are calling for is a deathwish to a truly democratic Iran
By Slater Bakhtavar
January 21, 2004
iranian.com
I recently read your heartfelt appeal
[Mapping
Dean's Iran] advocating the Iranian-American community towards supporting
Governor Howard Dean for the presidency
of the United States. While I am supportive of your activism, I'm
quite disappointed by your inaccuracy.
Unfortunately similar to many diaspora Iranians
you're misguided on President Bush's foreign policy. Contrary to
exported propaganda
President Bush and the defense board have never called for 'attacking
Iran', this was pure propaganda purposefully instigated by those
with their own political agenda.
President Bush has consistently
supported student demonstrations in Iran, has aggresively and
openly called for a
democratic Iran,
and s denounced those mingling Iran with 'Arab countries'.
Unlike the Democrats, President Bush, has clearly separated
the good Iranian
people from the dreaded Islamic regime. President Bush referred
to the failed reform movement in Iran as unsupported and
Iranians responded when only 12% of Iranians voted in 'sham' elections.
As consistently stated -- the strategy of President
Bush is to aid the internal opposition in Iran (virtually the entire
population)
in overthrowing or radically changing the dictatorship
advocated
by Khamenei or the semi-dictatorship advocated by Khatami.
Howard Dean's strategy consists of engaging the
reformists within Iran's adminstration. While his strategy maybe
'heartfelt'
nonethless
it's politically motivated. What Governor Dean needs
to realize is that the reformists aren't supported by
the people,
as evidenced by the lack of student demonstrations during
the latest reformist/hardliner quarrel.
Furthermore,
virtually
all student groups have distanced themselves from Khatami's
reformist movement, and only 12% of Iranians voted
in recent elections
in
Tehran.
The engagement that Dean and the Democrats
are calling for is a deathwish to a truly democratic Iran.
Any sort
of 'engagement' with the Islamic Republic will strongly
streghten
the regime
and
will undermine those seeking true democracy in Iran.
In recent polls over 70% supported a separation of
religion from politics,
but even those aligned with Iran's reformist movement
are
calling for a strong 'Islamic Democracy' where candidates
are disqualified
based on devotion to Islam. It's unfortunate that some
are letting either political agenda, ignorance, or
propaganda get in the
way.
President Bush supports the democracy sought by
the majority of Iranians, and he's willing to aid and fund
those groups
in Iran
who are seeking to free themselves. He's denounced
military actions in Iran, therefore those claiming
that he has
advocated military
action can never quite quote a single time he's made
such a statement. Of course, they can quote the Islamic
Republic
'claiming'
he made
such statements.
On the other hand Dean and his comrades
are seeking to engage Iranian 'reformists', and
if they're
gone, the
hard-liners. They are seeking to strengthen the
Iranian regime economically
while seeking gradual and extremely minor concessions
over a period
of 10-30 years. By their model Iran will become
the next China, a dictatorship who relies merely on economic
prosperity
to
survive.
It's time to put aside the propaganda and think
logically...
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Dean's
deathwish