Greenway on Iran

Sharp analysis of the crisis in Iran by former Boston Globe columnist H.D.S. Greenway, now writing for GlobalPost. He begins:

Protests in the streets, angry crowds in numbers not seen since the revolution in 1979, have some people wondering if Iran is on the verge of revolution. But it’s more likely, if the street protests get out of hand, there will be a China-style Tiananmen, with voices crying for reform silenced by gun fire.

Greenway also gives President Obama high marks for not saying anything that would help Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “play the Great Satan card.”

We’re debating whether Obama has said enough here. It was also the subject of a Jeff Jacoby column in today’s Globe.

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3 thoughts on “Greenway on Iran”

  1. Dan, I tink you meant, "It was also the subject of a TYPICALLY HYSTERICAL Jeff Jacoby column," right?

  2. Obama's restraint is fine with me. This situation is a bit different than China (crackdown) and Romania (military flip) in that there's the x-factor of Islam involved. Had the President been critical of the election result he would have been accused of encouraging demonstrations resulting in arson and violence. He's played it correctly and will likely remain flexible in his approach.

  3. I also agree.If Obama came out with one of his patented speeches, the regime would have immediately used it for propaganda purposes. Rather than have Obama's words chopped up and prop up Khamenei and Ahmadinejad's "win," he chose the tacit approach of "let them sort it out for themselves," while tacitly approving of the protests.If the students and others can successfully get rid of Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, and the clerics that have held Iran in a vise grip for 30 years, that makes his desire to negotiate with the new regime that much easier. Whether he realizes that every overture to the current regime will be futile remains to be seen, but I have a feeling this is going to get a lot more interesting.It's a lot like the parent whose child is in the middle of a screaming tantrum, and the parent, rather than taking the child outside (which I would do), lets the child continue so they see the embarassment their causing to themselves. Yes, the rest of the people have to undergo screaming and crying, but soon enough, the child tires out and stops crying. More often than not, they never do it again.

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