Most of the global talk about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (in photo) has been about what he might do to Israel and the United States if he’s successful in pursuing nuclear weapons. But what about what he’s doing to Iran? His call Tuesday for further purging of liberal and secular professors from Iran’s universities should bring new attention to the Taliban-like changes Ahmadinejad’s administration is making in the country, presumably out of nostalgia for the 1979 Islamic revolution. In the past year, dozens of professors have been retired, and a cleric was put in charge of Tehran University. Time magazine recounted other recent fundamentalist reforms, including gender segregation in classrooms, restrictions on women’s dress and their public performance of music, and confiscation of residents’ satellite dishes. Will the world cry out about these limits on liberty, as it did about pre-Sept. 11 Afghanistan?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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13 Comments
Haven’t we learned from the Iraq war? Big guns and tanks will not change a society’s mind about their religious practices. These are Muslim people and these practices have been in their culture for years.
America needs to straighten out our own backyard before we go snooping into others.
Actually, Iran has a sizeable secularized population especially among the youth.
Bush missed the golden opportunity to corner Ahmadinejad by not meeting with Khatami, even on the side.
On another note, any news about NAM Summit in Cuba next week?
. . . and we are supposed to invade this country as well? And to change what: the fact these countries have been fighting among themselves, and each other, for thousands of years? If Iran is stupid enough to use a nuke, then it would be just cause to parking lot them. Otherwise, let the morons stew in their own fundemental nonsense.
Like fedup said, we got too much on our plate in this country.
We need to inspire a counter revolution in Iran. The Iranian street with their secular population should bind together and overthrow their extremist government.
I don’t know how we do that, but Iran needs to change from the inside. I don’t think we can change them from the outside.
Joe,We were successful in dong that before, I think that such a course of action would be the saner and most cost-effective approach.
That’s the kind of govt. people in Iraq and Iran want.
Joe, I agree. However we definitely do not do that with saber-rattling. That just unifies Iran against us. And we do not do it by alienating other counteries (like secular Lebanon) that might have served as a bridge to moderate secular forces in Iran.
Think about it. 9/11 unified the US against the perpetrators of 9/11. If we do a ‘9/11′ against Iran we unify them against us.
The problem is, it was the stupid invasion of Iraq that made the fundamentalists stronger in Iran. The clerics there were really struggling to hold onto their power (repressively) and engendering a great deal of resentment among the increasingly secular youth. Then, the US invades Iraq, creating concern from all corners of Iran and making the clerics’ hard line anti-American stance more attractive to the Iranian population.
Of all of the negative consequences of the Bush Administration’s ill considered and reckless action in invading Iraq, that was the worst.
“Purging of liberal professors”
That’s exactly what David Horowitz and Rush Limbaugh want to do HERE.
Are they a “human rights” problem too?
“Of all of the negative consequences of the Bush Administration’s ill considered and reckless action in invading Iraq, that was the worst.”
No, I think the strengthening of alQuada is worse. They are ALL bad – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Problem with Bush’s argument of an Al Quida State, is that the would them be just as vulnerable as any other government. There by losing the advantage terrorist have always enjoyed, and that which makes them nearly impossible to defeat with military weapons.
Who cares if Iran is a “human rights threat”.
ITS NOT OUR RIGHT TO JUDGE!
Or force our beliefs upon them.
We need to deal with our own country first and stop playing “Worlds morality police”.