Those of us above 65 might remember how once upon a time the Mainstream Media told us that the Shah of Iran was really, really bad. And how a brave dissident living in Paris would save the country from the evil Shah. He would broadcast sermons on his very own Farsi Language BBC radio program. After his return to Iran, the courageous individual was named Time Man Of The Year in 1979.
Unfortunately, you can rule through fear and bullets for quite a long time. And the people don't have bullets. And they are mostly cosplaying revolutionaries. They don't have a real killer instinct, and they are not doing all they can to kill the government agents who are trying to kill them. But the government does have the killer instinct and is doing a very good job killing and suppressing.
Cosplay? Do a bit of reading and you will find out that the military police are driving through the protesters on motorcycles and randomly shooting and killing them. Not much cosplay in that! There have been at least 10,000 to 20,000 people murdered. How the hell can you take back your government without guns?? Mark, please go play your video games, you are over your head with your comment on this subject.
You are making my point. The protesters are doing all the dying. The protests happen at night. They can string metal wire or rope across the street to try to decapitate the motorcycle police or ambush regular police and steal their guns or throw rocks from buildings. But they are not doing that. They are mostly protesting and relatively peacefully.
That’s not how you win a revolution. There is no point to protesting and dying if you don’t also do what you need to do to win. It’s deadly cosplay with no leadership and everyone sees that and it’s the reason no one wants to get involved and help them.
Words mean things. Cosplay=Kabuki. Costume, play. Got it? Iranian people are risking their lives to change their leadership. They have no ability to defend themselves against a government using machine guns.
Carter dropped the ball. This is why the coup succeeded and 52 US hostages suffered so long. It was expected by Israeli leaders that the US would come in and get rid of the radicals, after the radicals had gotten rid of the oppressive and corrupt shah, so that Israel could then take control of the oil. Those US hostages and Carter's inability to handle the hostage situation properly resulted in decades of danger against Americans and an almost complete loss of "peace through strength" in the region. Carter was a fool.
Weak presidents like Carter and also Obama who embarked on his apology tour, are seriously detrimental to our nation. Biden was the epitome of a weak president and we lost respect to the point that other countries sent criminals and mentally disturbed “migrants” across our borders to our cities. Strong presidents like Reagan and Trump who both love our country make the country safe.
Regimes that rule by fear always misread silence as loyalty—until it’s too late. Iran’s clerics still think terror equals control, but history says otherwise. You can jail bodies, not memory. You can shoot protesters, not erase the idea of freedom. The mullahs aren’t governing; they’re occupying their own country. And occupations eventually fail. What terrifies Tehran isn’t sanctions or foreign pressure—it’s the Iranian people remembering who they were before the revolution and realizing they don’t need permission to reclaim it. Fear can suppress dissent for a while, but it cannot generate legitimacy. When legitimacy is gone, collapse becomes a matter of timing, not theory.
Regrettable that this post does not put current events in Iran in the context of British exploitation of Persian oil, starting with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909, the CIA/MI6 Operation Ajax coup d'etat in 1953 and all the rest of it. Is it any wonder that many in Iran resent more than a century of Western interference in their country?!
While I did give the article a "like", I don't agree with all of the points. Iran was not a sophisticated state prior to 1979, but a monarchy that wasn't terribly free. People don't always yearn for freedom when there are bread and circuses. The Roman Empire survived for a millennium, the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) lasted for about 60 years, communist China continues for over 75 years. When the Roman's and the U.S.S.R.'s empires couldn't and wouldn't support the government and keep the people fed, they fell. Iran seems to be suffering the same economic problems, due to sanctions, that are causing the problems. Besides, do that many people in Iran vividly remember what conditions were nearly 47 years ago?
Ya right. You overlooked the fact that Iran has a Command Economy and is a Theocratic political system. US sanctions have nothing to do with the revolt against their tyrannical leader. 🙄
Sorry Roger, but my understanding is that 1/2 of the people want this modernity that you say, but there’s another half who like the clerics. I’m not the judge here. Be more balanced on the Iran issue.
Those of us above 65 might remember how once upon a time the Mainstream Media told us that the Shah of Iran was really, really bad. And how a brave dissident living in Paris would save the country from the evil Shah. He would broadcast sermons on his very own Farsi Language BBC radio program. After his return to Iran, the courageous individual was named Time Man Of The Year in 1979.
https://share.google/bxm2d1Kf1OzI9bSZ6
Unfortunately, you can rule through fear and bullets for quite a long time. And the people don't have bullets. And they are mostly cosplaying revolutionaries. They don't have a real killer instinct, and they are not doing all they can to kill the government agents who are trying to kill them. But the government does have the killer instinct and is doing a very good job killing and suppressing.
Cosplay? Do a bit of reading and you will find out that the military police are driving through the protesters on motorcycles and randomly shooting and killing them. Not much cosplay in that! There have been at least 10,000 to 20,000 people murdered. How the hell can you take back your government without guns?? Mark, please go play your video games, you are over your head with your comment on this subject.
You are making my point. The protesters are doing all the dying. The protests happen at night. They can string metal wire or rope across the street to try to decapitate the motorcycle police or ambush regular police and steal their guns or throw rocks from buildings. But they are not doing that. They are mostly protesting and relatively peacefully.
That’s not how you win a revolution. There is no point to protesting and dying if you don’t also do what you need to do to win. It’s deadly cosplay with no leadership and everyone sees that and it’s the reason no one wants to get involved and help them.
Words mean things. Cosplay=Kabuki. Costume, play. Got it? Iranian people are risking their lives to change their leadership. They have no ability to defend themselves against a government using machine guns.
Maybe you’re right about using the term cosplay here. Should have said LARPing.
Carter dropped the ball. This is why the coup succeeded and 52 US hostages suffered so long. It was expected by Israeli leaders that the US would come in and get rid of the radicals, after the radicals had gotten rid of the oppressive and corrupt shah, so that Israel could then take control of the oil. Those US hostages and Carter's inability to handle the hostage situation properly resulted in decades of danger against Americans and an almost complete loss of "peace through strength" in the region. Carter was a fool.
Weak presidents like Carter and also Obama who embarked on his apology tour, are seriously detrimental to our nation. Biden was the epitome of a weak president and we lost respect to the point that other countries sent criminals and mentally disturbed “migrants” across our borders to our cities. Strong presidents like Reagan and Trump who both love our country make the country safe.
Regimes that rule by fear always misread silence as loyalty—until it’s too late. Iran’s clerics still think terror equals control, but history says otherwise. You can jail bodies, not memory. You can shoot protesters, not erase the idea of freedom. The mullahs aren’t governing; they’re occupying their own country. And occupations eventually fail. What terrifies Tehran isn’t sanctions or foreign pressure—it’s the Iranian people remembering who they were before the revolution and realizing they don’t need permission to reclaim it. Fear can suppress dissent for a while, but it cannot generate legitimacy. When legitimacy is gone, collapse becomes a matter of timing, not theory.
Regrettable that this post does not put current events in Iran in the context of British exploitation of Persian oil, starting with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909, the CIA/MI6 Operation Ajax coup d'etat in 1953 and all the rest of it. Is it any wonder that many in Iran resent more than a century of Western interference in their country?!
While I did give the article a "like", I don't agree with all of the points. Iran was not a sophisticated state prior to 1979, but a monarchy that wasn't terribly free. People don't always yearn for freedom when there are bread and circuses. The Roman Empire survived for a millennium, the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) lasted for about 60 years, communist China continues for over 75 years. When the Roman's and the U.S.S.R.'s empires couldn't and wouldn't support the government and keep the people fed, they fell. Iran seems to be suffering the same economic problems, due to sanctions, that are causing the problems. Besides, do that many people in Iran vividly remember what conditions were nearly 47 years ago?
Ya right. You overlooked the fact that Iran has a Command Economy and is a Theocratic political system. US sanctions have nothing to do with the revolt against their tyrannical leader. 🙄
Sorry Roger, but my understanding is that 1/2 of the people want this modernity that you say, but there’s another half who like the clerics. I’m not the judge here. Be more balanced on the Iran issue.
The Architecture of a Crisis Manufactured by Hostile Foreign Powers.
An exclusive exposé on the hidden forces, intelligence networks, and propaganda machinery fueling turmoil in Iran.
https://felixabt.substack.com/p/the-architecture-of-a-crisis-manufactured
Col Douglas Macgregor’s analysis I believe more than Roger’s though I love both dearly.
All the best.
Ezio
The Gulf countries do not want America to bring down the Ayatollah !!
They will lose heavily if Iran is a free country and a modern democracy.
https://sergemil.substack.com/p/a-nation-executed-under-the-eyes