How Jacko Helps the Mullahs
the daily beast. / Benjamin Sarlin
05-Jul-2009 (3 comments)

Mark Sanford isn't the only person relishing the King of Pop's demise—national-security experts are warning that his death could distract from Iran's increasing crackdown on democracy.
The jokes popped up almost immediately that Mark Sanford was the luckiest guy on earth after word broke that Michael Jackson had suffered a heart attack. But the notion that Jackson's death, which preempted virtually all other news coverage on the cable networks last night, is sucking up media attention from other matters carries a dark edge to it as well. National-security experts are warning that without sustained attention on Iran, its repressive tactics could grow more deadly in the coming days.
The Jackson story, paired with Farrah Fawcett's death and Sanford's own scandal, “without a doubt” poses a danger in Iran, according to Michael Rubin, an American Enterprise Institute scholar and former Bush administration official.
“It’s a sad commentary that celebrity still trumps national security in news coverage, but that’s the world we live in,” says former Bush official Michael Rubin.

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IRANdokht

dear Ostaad

by IRANdokht on

You're right, everyone is trying to use the news and the event to further their own agenda (see MaziarB's comment below).

I just thought it was ironic that someone from the GWB administration would say the following:

“To put it this way, the gods are not in favor of hope and change”

IRANdokht


Ostaad

I could only echo what someone posted about this article...

by Ostaad on

"Oh, cool. Another article that puts the US and its culture in the
middle of everything going on in the world... Yea, Michael Jackson's
death is going to change the course of Iranian history... Sure. Are we
really this self-absorbed as a country?"

I'd like to add, Michael Rubin has never given a rat's ass about the Iranians. He is just lamenting the fact that his diatribes against Iran are overshadowed by chatter about MJ and others for a short while. He'll be back in the business of Iran bashing lickety split.


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Helping the Mullahs

by MaziarB. (not verified) on

"Mark Sanford isn't the only person relishing the King of Pop's demise—national security experts are warning that his death could distract from Iran's increasing crackdown on democracy."“I think we can agree that the Iranian regime benefits from the media rush to memorialize, explore, and reflect upon Michael Jackson and his legacy,”

and of course you would know all about that wouldn't you? you posted Michael Jackson news here just as young Iranians were being killed and news of Michael Jackson's death had already stopped the flow of news about Iran. now who is helping the mullahs?

//iranian.com/main/news/2009/06/25/michae...