Of course, we've got some strategic interests in and around Iran. Too bad we handed them their immediate neighborhood by invading Iraq. Oh well.

However, inasmuch as he's using the Presidential bully pulpit to the extent possible, can the opposition party get their hypocritical panties (two words: Tiananmen Square) out of their hypocritical asses and let the guy do his job?

Finally, Iran isn't close to nukes. They're not even close to having a non-military nuclear program. I wish people could remember our own intelligence assessments when it comes to little facts like this.

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@momof3wildkids: A black ops group (Delta Force) would surely be working with the CIA.

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Anything else you need explained?

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[news.yahoo.com]

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If the Ayatollahs made a few minor changes, this would all go away. This election was rigged from the start, as all the candidates were chosen by the powers that be anyway.

This is a sad state of affairs...

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I agree, that if they come down hard on these protesters there won't be another uprising for at least a generation. I think we in the West are confusing the true meaning of this protest. Many of these people are fine with their gov't. They might want a few changes, but in all they don't want to turn their world upside down.

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Excuse me, but I am sick and tired of hearing that type of a bullshit. No one is fine with being terrorized. What the fuck would you do in their place? Convert to Christianity and sing 'God Bless America?' The options are very limited. Just because you go along with the program as much as you simply have to, doesn't mean you are fine with it.

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If I'm reading everyone correctly, we're on the same side here. Even you and I, which as you pointed out before, is rare.

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Seriously guys, knock that shit off.

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@kimberlydebarge: The article that I linked gave a pretty good breakdown of what seems to be the makeup of the revolutionaries. I'm not saying its only students. However, they are mostly people who are educated (i.e. lawyers and professionals).

@Niko Bellic: Now, back to you. The individuals in Iran are probably a lot like the individuals in the US in many ways. However, you're right, there are some advantages to living in a modern developed democracy. We have access to much more information. Most of us have been raised on a diet of our collective belief system (Free Speech, right to vote, personal freedom, etc.) I don't believe that's true in Iran, which is why many of the people may not see the importance of what the revolutionaries are doing.

I'm really trying to see what has you in an uproar, bro, but I still get the feeling that we're all saying the same thing with slight variations.

@The Cajun Boy: I forgot to mention that this was another informative piece. I didn't know a lot of these things.

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So you are basically saying that, to take an extreme axmple, Neda's father (while he may grieve for her death as he might have if she merely died in a car accident) does not "see the importance" of what is going on as well as you do, because you've learned about Free Speech in elementary school?

Well, forgive me from getting into an uproar over that.

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Yet... somehow, miraculously, even though I wasn't American (and therefore did not know shit about freedom) - there I was, trying to take down the regime and replace it with democracy (which was later successfully done).

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I also know a lit bit of your history from other posts. I will not pretend to have first hand experience with oppression since I was born in the U.S. However, you apparently are trying to be deliberately provocative or really are just not reading what I said. Only a complete idiot would argue that the people of Iran have access to the same information that our citizens do. That does make a difference as to how the groups of revolutionaries and supporters of the government break down. You seem to want to take every point I make about Iran as a broad sweeping stereotype that applies to everyone without exception, so I'll clear it up for you with yelling:

MOST of the revolutionaries are educated people, students, professionals, etc.

MOST of the revolutionaries live in the city.

If an Iranian is not in that demographic then there is LESS LIKELIHOOD that he or she will be participating in this revolt.

Although, the above statements deal in PROBABILITIES, it is, of course, LIKELY that there are people participating in this revolt who are neither students nor professionals. It is also likely that there are SOME students who decided not to revolt for whatever reason.

I'm sorry if that was unpleasant.

@Must B. Nice: You can always question the credibility of the author, but the analysis seemed pretty well reasoned to me. Other than his almost certainly accurate prediction about Japan, what did you think of the breakdown?

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From this, you will allow that those who are fighting for something right now, know very damn well what the main fight is about: it's not that "the votes were not counted" as much as it is that they are being murdered while protesting that the votes were not counted. After all, that's pretty much what the difference between Iran 2009 and Florida 2000 is.

You'd have to think that the protesters are idiots to think that if somehow, miraculously, Khamenei ordered another election, everyone'll be happy. They will not, until they win AND, as a result, the process of dismantling the machine that's been strangling them and killing them for decades (and for the last couple of weeks) begins.

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As I understand it, there are pretty clear indications the votes in Iran were NEVER ACTUALLY COUNTED, as evidenced by the voter tallies in excess of 100% in key areas. Key areas, it might be noted, in which the "official" results showed 86-90% victory margins, when these same regions show far more modest margins of 10% or so in the last election.

The problem is that this election was stolen, pure and simple, and the ruling clerics are barely trying to hide the fact.

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