His name is Hossein Khomeini, and he did it from inside Iran; he lives in Qom.
The grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, the inspiration of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, has broken a three-year silence to back the United States military to overthrow the country's clerical regime....
"My grandfather's revolution has devoured its children and has strayed from its course," he told Al-Arabiya, an Arabic-language television station. "I lived through the revolution and it called for freedom and democracy - but it has persecuted its leaders."
He also made clear his opposition to Teheran's alleged development of a secret nuclear weapons programme. "Iran will gain real power if freedom and democracy develop there," he said. "Strength will not be obtained through weapons and the bomb."
It's not the first time he's said this -- he first did so in 2003 -- but it's still startling to hear.
I think it's pretty cool. An invasion would be a seriously bad idea, but it's good to hear more and more voices being raised against the ruling mullahs -- and their nuclear program. It's been clear for years that the mullahs do not represent the people of Iran. As internal opposition grows, the mullahs come under increasing pressure to either relent or crack down. And they lose either way.
This is probably the last we'll hear from Khomeini for a while, though. His connections will probably spare his life; but he'll be even more thoroughly muzzled than he has been up until now.
nuclear, Khomeini, Iran, politics, midtopia
3 comments:
going into Iran with the army would not just be an incredibly bad idea but something that will negate everything that US stands for.
US can teach a lot about democracy and more importantly about Federalism just by not involving the army.
I dont mean to say that army is bad but that the states in the middle east are so militarized that the civil population will look at the army just like the iraqis are looking at the american army. not with a lot of trust.
Speaking of Federalism , the spanish region of catalonia just voted for more autonomy.I am sure America has inspired them in them in no small measure, because they are looking for as much autonomy as an american state in the union.
GK
I'm not so sure this statement is good at all. It simply discredits pro-democracy Iranians, who can now be accused of betraying the country. It's as if the anti-war left advocated more 9/11's in the US. It's nice that he doesn't like the mullahs, but that is a very irresponsible statement. Plus, am I correct that Al Arabiya is an American-sponsored network (I could be wrong about that). If so, that just reduces the credibility even more.
Marc: Fair point. But given the lack of free expression in Iran I think stuff like this, which would look nutty coming from American protesters, isn't quite so fringe there.
Al Arabiya is based in Dubai and owned by Arab investors, mostly Saudi. That may or may not be a credible thing within Iran, which is Persian, not Arab.
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