Great. Great. Just frikkin' great.

[WilliamPitt]

Mideast Conflict a Setback for Iran Reform Movement
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: August 1, 2006

TEHRAN, July 31 — The Israeli onslaught in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s daily victories in the regional public relations war over the conflict threaten to claim a victim in Iran: whatever hope remained of resurrecting the political reform movement.

Day by day, even as Iran’s officials assess the military setbacks of Hezbollah, they have grown more and more emboldened by the gathering support in the Islamic world for the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia on the front line with Israel. They have grown more and more emboldened by what they see as a validation of their confrontational approach to foreign policy — and in their efforts to silence political opposition at home.

That is the view of at least some opposition figures, analysts and former government officials who say they find themselves in the awkward position of opposing Israel and sympathizing with the Lebanese people, yet fear what might happen should Hezbollah prevail.

Such an outcome, they say, would strengthen the hand of the hard-liners now in control of Iran’s government, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose firebrand opposition to the West has taken Iran back to the early days of the Islamic Revolution, when the country’s leadership focused more on exporting its revolutionary ideas than on integrating Iran with the rest of the world.

In the tense environment, where anyone who questions the leadership’s full-throated support for Hezbollah can face public vilification, few people who express such opinions are willing to be quoted by name. But the anger, the feeling of conflicting concerns and the fear of a future political crackdown appear to be spreading.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/01/world/middleeast/01iran.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Once again...It is Israel's fault.

Does the fucking memo in the ME EVER change?!

[acmejack]

8. And of course, these criticisms are always entirely baseless...

[Behind the Aegis]

9. I agree it's baseless...

...too bad the article doesn't!

[Ian David]

10. America has set this up to make it Israel's fault

Just like when Bush sends Condi to negotiate peace, then, when it fails, it's Condi's fault.

When New Orleans drowns, it's Brownie's fault.

See:

America's Roadmap to The Apocalypse
Immanentizing the Eschaton
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/IanDB1/667

[Theduckno2]

2. Karl Rove's Playbook --- Arabic Edition

When someone questions the leadership's actions, Senators Kerry and Cleland for instance, they get vilified.

Of course we at least have 'free-speech' zones. :sarcasm:

[magellan]

3. Quelle surprise

As long as the US and Israeli govts keep excluding themselves from the standards they expect everyone else to live to, things will only continue to get worse.

[tabasco]

4. Bush put them in his idiotic "axis of evil."

The corporate cabal doesn't want a reformed Iran.

They want neverending war for corporate profits.

A rational US government would have fostered the reform movement through diplomacy.

[Wonk]

5. Duh? This was so predictable. In fact, a number of DUers did predict it.

Sigh...

[xchrom]

6. this is what happens when you won't engage with people you don't like.

[malaise]

7. The NYT is worried about who is winning

the PR war while US bombs are slaughterng Lebanese citizens. I don't get it. Until the NYT places an Editorial column on its front page condemning the US government for rushing bombs to facilitate the slaughter of Lebanese citizens they can STFU. Their columnists can write about a PR war but it is human beings being killed by American bombs in Iraq and now in Lebanon.

Everytime the US government attempts to 'enforce' regime change in a country on this planet, it is about expanding its own imperial ambitions and the people of Iran knows this. The US should get the fugg out of the Middle East and stop inventing enemies so they can steal resources.

[Joanne98]

11. The rally around the flag effect. I guess the Iranians have a flag too

This was soooooo easy to predict.

[aikoaiko]

12. I found this statement in the Times piece difficult to believe.

"The war in Lebanon has also fueled a growing anti-American sentiment, which barely existed on the streets of Tehran before."