Iran's Dictator and Generals at the Same Familiar Two Ways Road

A year and a half ago, before the rigged presidential-election in Iran, Iran's dictator,Ali Khamenei, and his generals had reached the end of a two ways road and had to make a hard and chilling decision. They either had to let people exercise their democratic right and impose their will of change which would have gradually and eventually undermined the dictator's position; or stand on their way by force. They chose the latter. They grossly underestimated the people's resoluteness; and now are paying the price, while find themselves at the same spot. This time, however; they neither have the discretion to simply choose between the ways nor an unlimited time.

Last time it was one year before the rigged election in Iran, when the dictator and his co-culprits reached the conclusion that in order to hold on to their political power and privileges; they must bypass the people’s vote. It was despite the election of president Obama into the White House earlier and that he has extended his unclenched fist toward Tehran. It was also, and more importantly, at the time when a young, and long-awaited, Iranian generation has sensed the opportunity to materialize their aspiration for democracy. However, having ignored the significance of the timings the dictator and Co went ahead and executed their coup project–they made a selfish unforgivable strategic mistake.

By doing that, Khamenei and Co not only denied the Iranians an historic opportunity to taste their freedom and democracy after almost 100 years of struggle but also botched the chance of repairing the well-dented US-Iran relation after 32 years of hostility. Such relationship was, and is, more important and beneficiary to Iran and its people than to the US. The main unanswered question remains; why? Why did Khamenei and Co jeopardize the historic opportunities? There could only be two logical explanations for their irresponsible behavior.

First is that they were, and are, honest about what they are claiming to be. That is that they are a group of magnificent holly men who are only holding to their Islamic regime as their theological beliefs command. Khamenei has argued all along that the West and “the US in particular are in the region to topple their holly regime.” Therefore they had no choice but to stand firm and defend their religious beliefs. They justified this as a duty under god upon themselves. They accused the opposition, Green leaders and the people who voted for them, of not being politically astute.

This was an old ware-out justification, though, rooted back to a period after the 2003 Iraq’s invasion. Back then when the Khatami’s, former Iranian president, letter of cooperation to the White House ended up into the rubbish bin under the Dick Cheney’s desk; the Islamic Republic clenched its fist. It considered that as a matter of national security necessity. In fact the then US president G.W. Bush, his vice-president Cheney and his Defense Secretary, Ramsfield had all implied that the Islamic Republic and its dictator were heading in the same road and direction as Saddam did. Since then those threats have been significantly played in the hand of the Islamic Republic’s reactionaries under Ali Khameneei’s leadership. They brought in Ahmadi Nejad, simply a puppet with big mouth only, to dealing with those threats. The rest we all know about; questioning the Holocausts; threat to destroying Israel should Iran be attacked; moving Israel to Alaska etc he used to talk since he has been put into office.

But the biggest challenge Khameneei and Co are facing is the selling to the Iranian public the holiness of their actions. It is particularly challenging in the face of the crimes committed against people in the aftermath of their coup. Crimes such as rape; torture; and extra judicial killings committed against peaceful demonstrators; orchestrated by the dictator and his generals are all considered unIslamic. That means they are against the god and its book’s, Quran, teaching. In other words whoever commits such crimes cannot possibly claim to be a true Muslim let alone predicate them to save Islam, Quran or even god’s will. Many of those crimes are punishable by death in Islam. Holly men fighting for god and the survival of his religion are not to commit crimes punishable by death in his book! Ali Khamenei and his generals cannot even claim to be a true Muslim.

This leaves us only with the second logical explanation for their election-coup; that is Khamenei and his generals are just bunch of ordinary belonged-to-past politicians–mafia criminals–and money hungriest. And that they sensed a potential for a new US-Iran relation and simply tried to get rid of their domestic rivals to usher that relation with the West and in particular with the US and claim its credit.

Nevertheless, as politicians, they were not as smart though. To start with; they have mistaken the president Obama’s offer. President Obama and his administration sought a new and sound beginning with Iran and its people. They have never meant to have a new beginning with a dictator supported with a bunch of criminals. President Obama and his advisers were well aware of the difference between the 20th and 21st centuries relations; they knew the Cold War era, when a president of the United States and his advisers had an extra overriding element to consider, has long past! Khamenei and Co were well behind the time though! They misconceived the Obama’s offer badly and when at the two ways road; headed full-steam in the wrong way.

What Ali Khamenei and Co did before the rigged presidential-election was a huge mistake on their part. A mixture of arrogance, miscalculation, not knowing the scale and scope of the people’s determination; and wrong historical perception led them to incompetently ignore the aspiration of millions of Iranian for freedom and democracy. While they were conscious of the fact that the new Iranian generation is a silent resister; yet dared to ignore them. They have now found themselves trapped in their own created mess. They are facing an angry young Iranians who had initially come to streets asking for their ignored vote; but now chanting “Down with Khameni”; “Down with Dictator”; or “No to Gaza No to Lebanon I only give my life for Iran”; and “long live the Iranian Republic-as oppose to the Islamic Republic”!

One and a half year after the rigged election, the Islamic establishment has found itself at the same two ways road; it was before then. Only this time has no discretion to choose which way it should take; and not much time to think. If it makes a mistake; soon we won’t have such thing as the Islamic Republic which we used to know in the past 32 years.