It may be time to retreat | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
I agree (none / 0)
It now looks like democracy in Iran will not come without a lot of casualties and bloodshed. If the Iranian people decide it's worth paying this horrendous price, and keep protesting, and keep getting beaten to death by government militia, maybe police and military forces, or parts of the cleric institutions, will decide that they've had enough of this treatment of their fellow Iranians. Going this way takes tremendous courage, and it's not a decision that Mir-Hossein Mousavi has to make. It might or might not work, but it seems to be the only way forward now. It did work for Gandhi and the Indians, but only after years of great sacrifice.

by OldGerman on 06/25/2009 06:18:28 AM EST

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regroup and resume (none / 0)

It seems that the protesters may need to stop for now and regroup. It seems impossible that after what has happened that the movement can die. But they need to let things calm down so that marshal law is relaxed and phone and internet service is restored. Then plan for how to resume and win. There is no way that they won't win in the end with all that has happened. But it does not seem they can overcome the brute force of the crack down right now. More important leaders will be captured, imprisoned, and killed it seems right now.

Comments?

by willie108 on 06/25/2009 06:58:17 AM EST

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No Way (none / 0)
They need the momentum behind them.  They stop even a couple of days, they lose the momentum they need.  They need the momentum of the fraudulent election still burning in people's memories.  They need people to see all the people who were killed and protest their deaths before all those people are forgotten.  Even a couple days time-out would lose this thing for the Iranian people.

by birdboy1 on 06/25/2009 11:08:32 AM EST

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sorry but. (none / 0)
sorry to say this willie. but you live in a fantasy world. the second they stop protests the cause will be close to dead and will take many years to rebuild. why? because the second the protests stop the government can simply imprison the leaders in secret, but far worse then that the dictators will NOW KNOW that all they have to do to quell any riot is use extreme brutality. lastly the kind of re-organization you're talking about would require them to act and behave much like a military force being commanded by someone. they are not that, they are right now at the core simply a huge mob with a common greivance. you stop the protesting the power of numbers dissapates and their impact whittles away. should read up on some history of many nations, no huge protest that backed down to brutality ever succeeded. nearly all massive protests that met brutality had to fight back to win their cause.

by kingbane on 06/25/2009 12:15:01 PM EST

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It may be time to retreat | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)