Organic Evolution of the IRI will never happen ....

Islamic Republic in Iran - Oct 18, 2008 - Plateau of Iran - Iranian.ws

Have you ever noticed the pattern of counter arguments & attacks by pro regime Iranians or their friends when IRI or, for that matter, Islam is criticized? The politically savvy ones have learned to confuse so that it becomes difficult to ascertain true intention (similar to those who shave their beard, wear a suit and a tie, drink alcohol & pretend to be secular, but dig a little deeper and you’ll see their true colors). The other general misconception may be that Iranians writing from inside Iran only write in Persian, and are not as fluent in English as those living outside. In fact I’ve found that some actually are more fluent in English than quite a few Iranians living in the UK, U.S. Canada, Australia or any other English speaking country. Looking through various sites and blogs, typically, the pro IRI mob seems to come up with one or a combination of the following. The list is by no means exhaustive. In parenthesis are my comments:

- You, “ZioNazis” are Zionist, Israel, Jewish lobby supporters - (as opposed to NIAC, or any “Islamofascist” IRI lobby)

- I don’t care about IRI government, but everybody is finding out about Israeli lies and deceit. Long Live Iran! - (IRI’s lies and deceit are conveniently omitted, and they mean Long Live IRI.)

- We are proud American citizens, also proud of our persian heritage - (Ask them to do a brief critique of the IRI or Islam, and from the fake ones, you’ll get talk around, and double talk at best)

- You people just want War with Iran, you are neocon supporters - (never mind if you’ve already repeated 101 times that War is not an option. In their view, neocon is a dirty word unless you’re talking about the Islamic neocons i.e. Ahmadinejad’s et al faction)

- America is controlled by Zionists and “dollorcracy” - (Well, Iran is controlled by Basijees, “Mollacracy”, and “Moola-cracy”. Btw, why on earth are these IRI thugs living in America ?)

- Islamic Republic of Iran is the ultimate democracy; Iran has never had so many freedoms as today - (many students, workers, women, ethnic & minority religious groups, political prisoners, and, basically any sane & informed person, whose pockets aren’t subject to benefits from IRI, would beg to differ. Why are these IRI lackeys living in the West ?)

- Ahmadinejad never said “Israel must be wiped off the map”. It is incorrectly translated. “Marg bar Amerika, Marg bar Esrael” means “Down with America, Down with Israel” - (see this about AN’s remark on Israel. “Marg bar” literally means “Death to”, not “Down with”)

- Iranians are muslims & religious. Islam is important to the Iranian way of life, it cannot be separated. We have IRI because it is in line with Iranian culture, wants and needs. Islam has “beautiful” human rights and Sharia Laws - (If IRI and Islam are so popular amongst Majority of Iranians, why not let Iranians have a referendum, which gives options, overseen by an impartial group ? Why impose death penalty for those who want to convert out of Islam ? Why be afraid to loosen the leash on people?)

- IRI does not represent Islam, “true muslim believers” i.e. Iranians know this - (I’d like to see at least 80% of these “true believers” stand up and visibly defy IRI for being un-Islamic. How come when Ayatollah Boroujerdi spoke out against IRI, he had so few “true muslim believers” supporting him?)

- IRI can be reformed; it has to go through an “organic evolution” - (What evidence have we had in the past 30 years to give us hope that IRI is capable of reform? Btw, the IRI on paper has many democratic elements within strict confines of Islam. The problem is not a document, not even solely its implementation; the problem is the mindset, and culture induced by the mullahs and their kind; it is also a power game.)

Of course, in Iran, IRI is fully in charge and does do its research continuously and thoroughly, let’s call it a climate survey of the nation’s mood.

The Islamic Republic in Iran manages to suppress dissent, further propagate Shi’ite Islam (be it in minor parts their own version), and continue with its theocracy through overt and covert strategies and tactics. It may be worthwhile to say that counter strategies can also be developed using some of what is outlined below. Examples include:

* intimidation & instiling fear
* imprisonment, torture, maiming & executions
* creating & reinforcing the existence of external threats & enemies
* Abusing & subjugating ethnic groups by labelling them “terrorists” & “separatists” e.g. “a threat to national security” - while some clearly have separatist ambitions, many do not
* resurrecting and playing with historically sensitive and/or nationalistic sentiments e.g. “Nuclear power is our inalienable right”, and the nationalization of oil (mossadegh’s case)
* controlling & manipulating mass media, spreading mis-information
* intercepting & filtering communication tools and channels
* revising Iranian history (dis-information)
* determining and controlling education. Implementing the national Islamic curriculum at universities, schools and colleges
* imposing Islamic dress codes & “values”
* reinforcing and rewarding a culture of “spying” on your neighbor, family, relatives, friends, etc..
* using comprehensive psychological assessment tools and techniques to recondition, and indoctrinate many political prisoners, who can in turn be used as infiltrators against any opposition groups
* disseminating “soft” propaganda through prominent and non prominent figures e.g. psuedo-intellectuals, dubious historians, journalists, IRI “reformists”, bloggers, etc.. (many of these people have their price and can be bought with the right offer. No doubt some share IRI’s ideology)
* Fuelling drug addiction, sex trade and prostitution
* generating suspicion, fear, and hatred toward certain minority religious groups including the Baha’is in an attempt to destabilize the community
* pressuring Zoroastrians to convert to Islam & destabilizing the community through a law which awards Zoroastrians who convert to Islam their entire families’ inheritance at the expense of non-converted
* increasing the number of mosques and building massive Islamic centres throughout Iran, while often denying permission to other religious groups, including Zoroastrians, to build new houses of worship or to restore old ones
* Telling and selling blatant lies, disinformation, false and broken promises

As far as the West is concerned, a few of the mentioned points are equally employed to at least paint a favorable picture of the IRI outside Iran. Naturally, IRI does not have the degree or the extent of control that it enjoys in Iran, but is looking more and more to achieve it.

It no longer suprises me that many pro IRI individuals are either permanent residents in the West or hold dual citizenships. The luxury of holding dual citizenships not only allows them to live in real democratic societies with all associated liberties, and to act as propagandists for the IRI, but also to travel freely between Iran and the West. Furthermore, it presents them with a real opportunity to more easily infiltrate higher echelons of Western governments, particularly the U.S. and lobby on IRI’s behalf. These lobbyists and propagandists are not interested in having a two way, reasonable or logical discussion. Their sole focus is to continuously drive their points home - a win-lose situation (They win, You lose).

Of course Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and the rest of pro IRI gang only do what they are permitted to do. Since becoming president, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said: Sanctions, Isolation, what sanctions and isolation? By the looks of it, he was right.

Whilst obviously Afghanistan is not Iran, and there are some key differences, there are also similarities. I want to quote a few sentences to show, at least, the U.S. stance which I think is applicable to Iran as well.

“When the Taleban took power, State Department spokesperson Glyn Davies said that he saw “nothing objectionable” in the Taleban’s plans to impose strict Islamic law. Senator Hank Brown, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East and South Asia, welcomed the new regime: “The good part of what has happened is that one of the factions at last seems capable of developing a new government in Afghanistan.” “The Taleban will probably develop like the Saudis. There will be Aramco, pipelines, an emir, no parliament and lots of Sharia law. We can live with that,” said another U.S. diplomat in 1997.”

In my mind there is no doubt that the IRI must be pulled down completely i.e. Nulturally, structurally, economically, and militarily. Broadly, there seems to be two choices available. Either IRI will eventually suffer the same ultimate fate worse than the Taleban (when it has served its purpose for “external threats”). Or the Iranians (inside and outside) will miraculously put aside their differences in the interest of a better future for Iran, which IRI and its reformers will never be able to deliver.