I think the Iranian people are amongst of the bravest in the world right now (Ukrainians are right up there for me too).
Imagine taking to the streets of your nation by the millions, unarmed, to knowingly protest and die for your right to freedom. Knowing full well what you are up against with your "leaders". For the the right not to be executed because your hair showed from under a mandated hijab (for women), to not have an eye gouged out for wearing makeup, to be able to do such a simple thing as dance, to not be hung from a crane due to your sexuality. For the right to choose who and how you want to be led. For the right to actually have a trial before your execution where you actually have legal representation and not some religious zealot just 'decide'. Where your family is not charged the cost of the bullet that they killed you with.
Just imagine. I can because I have watched their uprising, their cries for freedom, the many of them who have posted their "Last Words" to the world "in case" they should be killed by the Regime. IMO, last words which also include things like 'if I am killed by an airstrike, do not blame Israel or America for it was the Ayatollah who caused this to me". They are all over twitter.
Do regime changes need to be "recent"? I mean, they've happened. Pol Pot is gone (The now-deceased Ayatollah was on-track to beat that psycho's numbers based upon his 48 hour total of innocents massacred on Jan 8 and 9 of his year. Nary a peep from the UN or many, many others who failed to speak up and out (some of whom even claim to be humanitarians) about them. Nary a single resoloution. The silence was absolutely deafening! Apparently, they don't think much about those tens of thousands of victims in this.
Even the allies didn't have a plan and replacement potential-name for the regime change in Germany before Adolf was dunzo. Now, it seems to be an expectation. The problem with that is "that's not up to us" --- that's up to the people who even today are still out there yelling, yearning and fighting back bare-handed against the Islamist thugs who still roam their streets. The ones yelling 'thank you' to Israel and the United States for helping them move towards achievement of freedom and release from 47 years of monstrous tyranny that has not been limited by the Islamic Regime to within it's own national borders.
Rather, they've funded (along with a couple other nations), trained and exported their terrorism via proxies throughout the middle east for decades. It is not surprising that Iranian missiles and drones have struck civilian hotels, apartment buildings, International airports and a Palestinian Hospital. I didn't expect any less from them after they showed their inability to control themsleves and their massacre of their own people last month. One nation in particular bears the brunt of that absolute terrorism and hatred they've exported for decades. That nation struck first. After decades of 'putting up with it'. When they respond to attacks they get "why didn't you do premeptive strikes to prevent this?" When they do a "pre-emptive strike" like currently they get "that's illegal!!" (it's actually not when Iran has been behind the terrorists attacking them on Iraeli turf for years).
Yes, IMO it's time. It's enough already. And it certainly seems that it's not just the US and Israel saying so.
May this region finally see some semblance of peace at the end of all this. The region deserve it. And every single one of them all also deserves to not be terrorized. Ever.
All IMO.
@Vern, but have you ever visited Iran? Me, no. Caucasian women married to Iranians told me that one had to cover the hair, wear long sleeves, and jeans were totally OK. Pahlavi's widow was attending a mosque with her hair uncovered. I know Iranian women who told me that Iranian youth were drinking and smoking in the houses.
Of course, things have become more conservative. But they kicked out Reza Pahlavi twice! Now they seem to be tired of the clerics, but whomever they want or don't, the person has to be their choice. I think they won't accept any from us.
I think that like with any other country, we can't generalize. Iran has big cities and own "redneck" areas. Tehran, Isfahan or Shiraz are likely populated by more liberally-minded people. In rural areas, people are more conservative.
Likewise, it is absolutely unreasonable to compare Khmers Rouges with Iranians. Pol Pot was educated and trained by French communists. If you then try to use the "class struggle" theory in a classless (agrarian) society, you'll end up in killing 3 millions in 4 years. But the world had a strange attitude to Pol Pot and Khmers Rouges. No one protested, no one invaded Cambodia. Worse, Khmers Rouges kept place in the UN till 1993, being ousted of power in 1979.
No one in the world has the right to mention Pol Pot, except for Vietnam. US tolerated Pol Pot - Ieng Sary's regime because Cambodia was the adversary of Vietnam. USSR almost never mentioned them (wish to avoid conflicts with China + obnoxious, but still communists, perhaps?). Western Europe kept quiet because Pol Pot was raised on French progressive ideas. China.. we know.
So, no, Iran has a very different head count and it is a state based on religion, not on communism. Not even close.
Hezbollah is technically not Iran and they haven't arrived to the US.
www.theguardian.com
