James Leroy Wilson's one-man magazine.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Iran's Form of Government

Steven LuLippe writes:

My goal is not to sugar-coat the Islamic Republic. There are numerous aspects of their governance, especially the judiciary and the police, which are undeniably authoritarian. But how many Americans are aware that women may vote and hold political office in Iran? How many Americans are aware that the president of Iran is a reformer who is intensely disliked by the conservative Islamist establishment? How many Americans are aware that religious minorities have guaranteed representation in the Iranian parliament, and that Judaism is far more tolerated there than in almost all of the Muslim nations which are currently subsidized as our "allies"? How many Americans are aware that there are Christian members of the Iranian parliament, while there are no Muslim members of the American Congress?

These are facts about which the American public must be made aware before they acquiesce to yet another disastrous "nation building" escapade in the Middle East.

If the neocons elect to attack Iran, they will be once again pouncing on a sovereign nation based on a blatant disregard for international law, our Constitution, and the beliefs of our Founding Fathers. Their attack will undoubtedly be preceded by a propaganda campaign based on lies, distortions, and fabricated intelligence (a process that will be enormously facilitated by the new "personnel changes" recently enacted at the CIA and the State Department).

While the Islamic Republic has its flaws, it is one of the few governments in the region which is at least partially representative of its people and which has the possibility of peacefully evolving into a more democratic system. Destroying it will not only blacken our reputation, it will also set back political liberalization in the Middle East for decades.

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