the eyeranian

http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/1835

Bob,
Someone has to tell Amir Taheri and other iraninas in Benador associates: Keep dreaming, we will get rid of the last indians but will never let you and your little prince to rule us again.

Bob,
Someone has to tell Amir Taheri and other iraninas in Benador associates: Keep dreaming, we will get rid of the last indians but will never let you and your little prince rule us again.

I really don't care about Taheri's dreams. I do have two questions, however.

1. After all these years, do you have it in you to admit that the prince's father was the lesser of two evils?

2. Do people like Pedram have it in them to own up to their colossal mistake? Or do they still find it preferable to spend all their time soothing their guilty consciensces by railing against others?

As Taheri said:

"The "little Indians" took years to understand what had happened. They complained about having been "duped" by Khomeini. Even today remnants of the "little Indians" do not realize that they only have themselves to blame. They lied to Khomeini, lied to the Iranian people and, above all, lied to themselves."

To be honest, I don't blame Pedram too much for having a guilty conscience. If I'd joined forces with Lenin in 1917 or Hitler in 1933, I'd have trouble living it down as well. Even if those guys double-crossed me later on.

Bob- you may claim that you "really don't care about Taheri's dreams" but you certainly seem to inhabit the same dreamland he does. Otherwise you wouldn't refer to the freeloading son of a long gone dictator as "the prince".

No, I was just using the epithet Siavash used. Personally, I find the concept of monarchy to be anachronistic in the modern age, all the more so when tied to real political power.

But don't let that stop you guys from projecting all of your guilt towards me. Or Taheri, for that matter - can anyone point me to a column where he called for the reinstatement of the monarchy?

By the way, Pahlavi was cheated out of all of his inherited money and now lives in a nondescript Virginia suburb. I'm not much of a fan of his, but that's hardly the definition of a spoiled freeloader.

considering I had barely started walking when the Revolution broke out, I'm not sure what I would have to feel guilty about other than, say, wetting the bed once in a while. But even if I had been old enough to partake in what was a widespread people's Revolution, I wouldn't be offering apologies (especially not to anyone named "bob") for what was a people's sincere desire to overthrow a brutal dictatorship. (cont'd)

Yes, things went very wrong, and if you actually read this blog, you would see that people like Pedram and others who did struggle against the Shah's regime do in fact own up to their mistakes.
As for the Pahlavis getting cheated out of money they stole from Iran, I have zero sympathy. And, yes, if you have never worked a day in your life and manage somehow to live in a lovely home (even if it is in a "non-descript Virginia suburb"), that makes you a spoiled freeloader.

Bob,
For your information: I still believe that the 1979 revolution was a great revolution. It was necessary and it was a big step forward for Iranian people. They removed a dictatorship, they removed a backward system of government called Monarchy, and they experienced the tyranny of theocracy. All these experiences were difficult but they were necessary. We have passed this tunnel of fire and never go back to the stupidity of Monarchy, Islamic rules, or Marxist groups of the 70s.
Iranian revolution was a great thing: it worked like a typhoon in a toilet. It washed the Pahlavis, Khomeini, the leftists, Amir Taheri, Mojahedin, Khatami, and the rest. Isn't that an achievement for a nation?
You can look at the French revolution and get disgusted with the Robespierre era. But if you look at that revolution from the standpoint we are standing at right now you will see how much the modern world owes to the French revolution. It changed every thing on the face of Europe and consequently the world, established the separation of church and state, ended the feudal system, and empowered the vote of the people.
The same applies to Iran. Iranian revolution actually put Islam in power and showed to the Iranian nation -and the rest of the Middle East- how much this religion is dis-functional when it comes to solving the problems of the modern life. It showed how much backward the Shiite clergy is, and it showed how much the intellectuals are disconnected from the reality of the life in their country.

I have spend most of my life under the Islamic regime. I was 10 years old when the revolution happened. I have seen the bombardments of the cities, I have been to the warfront, and I have experienced the humiliation of being beaten up by "Baseej" vigilante for my hair style or walking with my girlfriend. But putting my emotions aside I still think the revolution was a big step forward. It made us think about subjects that we never would have thought about if this revolution had not happened. It forced us to define ourselves as human beings without standing on any religious, nationalist or Marxist basis. That was a big step, a huge step forward.

The Other: that's a novel point of view. But Khatami is still around. His replacement will probably be worse than him. And his boss is just a milder, more pragmatic version of Khomeinei.

And can you honestly say with a straight face that life is better for the average Iranian today than in 1978? Better economically? Better in terms of personal freedoms? Or even political freedoms?

You say that you got rid of a backward political system in the Pahlavi dictatorship. Very true. But have you paid any attention to the way that many of the East Asian countries developed? They were modernizing dictatorships for many years. And once they created economic growth and a strong, educated middle class, they transitioned to liberal democracy. China is going through the same transformation today. That's what Iran was going to see as well if you didn't throw your revolution.

Look at the years right before the revolution, how Pahlavi was trying to gradually open up the political system. But the situation spun out of his control, and when it did, he wasn't enough of a monster to massacre his own people. Khomeinei had no such holdups.

And if you're going to provide historical examples, I think you should pick a better one than the French Revolution. After ten years of revolution, they had 15 years of military dictatorship. And then another 55 years of monarchy. The seperation of church and state, the end of feudalism, the transition from monarchy to democracy were all going to happen in Europe anyway due to the economic and political trends that were working. Just look at what was happening in Great Britain, Holland and America before the revolution.

Bob,
I think you misread the history, Pahlavi in his last 5-6 years of rule, closed the political scene entirely. He even ordered all people to join his fabricated poilitcal party and said if you don't want to join, you can have your passport and get out of the country.
Well, in last 10 months he felt the pressure from inside and outside and tried to buy time but it was too late.

It's rather obvious Bob has bought into the fake monarchist version of history and am not surprised he would quote Taheri or defend the poor prince that is so poor, he still doesn't have a job. Maybe it's time he gets one and move out of his nondescript Virginia suburb.

Bob,
FYI,
The hardline Mullahs in Tehran are advertising the exact same model that you brag about: China, a politically closed but economically open country.

Bob, did he ever ask his parents and/or offered a public explanation as to where did "all of his inherited money" come from to begin with? Every source I have looked at tells me the salary of Shah of Iran was such a nominal amount, as all his living expenses, travel, etc. was paid by the state. How did he manage to put away millions when his annual salary was so small? Was it acquired illegaly perhaps?

Now we should feel bad for him for having the stolen money stolen from him? I don't think so. Besides, as already pointed out by others, why not get a job? I'm sure the local Burger King in Virginia is hiring if he's turned down by the CIA or Benador people or Rove/Ledeen group.

Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.