Death Toll Rises to 10 as Clashes in Iran Intensify
By ROBERT F. WORTH and NAZILA FATHI
New York Times
December 27, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Iranian police opened fire into crowds of protesters in Tehran on Sunday, killing at least 10 people and setting off a day of chaotic street battles that seemed poised to deepen the country’s civil unrest, as demonstrators in cities across Iran flooded the streets and fiercely fought back against security forces, witnesses and opposition Web sites said.
The protests, on the holiday commemorating the death of Hussein, Shiite Islam’s holiest martyr, were the bloodiest and among the largest since the uprisings that followed Iran’s disputed presidential election last June, witnesses said. Hundreds of wounded people were reported wounded, and the Tehran police said they had made 300 arrests.
The Iranian authorities’ decision to fire into crowds on the sacred Ashura holiday stunned many Iranians, and some said the violence appeared to be galvanizing more traditional religious people who have not been part of the protests so far. The Shah’s forces never fired on protesters during Ashura, wary of violating the day’s sanctity.
Obama Silent as Iranians Die for Freedom
Iranian youth no longer chant "death to America." Now they shout "death to the dictators" as they trample photos of Iran's Supreme Leader. They also chant "Obama are you with us or with them [the dictators]?"
The reaction from the White House to the latest violence and the calls for recognition of the freedom movement? Silence. Once again, Obama doesn't want to rock the boat with his hopes for a deal with the mad Mullahs who hold the Iranian people hostage to their warped ideology.
Regime Change the Key to Winning War on Terror and Preventing Spread of Nukes
The radical and tyrannical regime that the crowds in the streets of Tehran desperately want to overthrow has been the grandfather of Islamic terrorism. The threat we face each day is a direct result of the Mullahs mad efforts to spread the Islamic revolution and defeat the West. Bringing down that evil regime which has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans throughout the Middle East via their proxies like Hezbollah, would be the equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.
That great event only occurred because the United States under the leadership of President Reagan was willing to provide both material and moral support to groups like the Solidarity movement in Poland.
Obama barely acknowledges the struggle of the Iranian protesters and he cut off funds to pro-democracy and human rights groups in Iran. Instead, he has pursued a policy of apology and appeasement with Iran's leaders. He's done everything but bow to Iran's whacko President Ahmadinejhad. Perhaps he's saving that gesture for next year.
In return, the hardliners in Iran have spit in his face and rejected every request from the U.N. and our allies that Iran cease work on developing nuclear weapons.
Why won't Obama adopt Reagan's successful Cold War winning strategy?
Because he was raised by a cadre of leftists who despised Reagan and resented the application of U.S. power especially when it was aimed at the Soviet Union with which many of Obama's mentors and family had great sympathy. The idea of American exceptionalism is an alien concept to these lefties who loathe America's leadership role in the world.
But it wasn't just Obama and his radical associates who held these views. Much of the Democrat Party devoted itself to opposing Reagan's efforts to win the Cold War. And many of them still refuse to recognize how every wrong they were during those crucial years. So don't expect them to embrace the lessons of Reagan's success.
A Free Iran is a Friendly Iran
Regime change in Iran would likely bring a government much friendlier to the West. You need only recall the candlelight vigil Iranians held in the streets of Tehran mourning the violence of the September 11th attacks on the U.S. to understand that a great many people in Iran would welcome a chance to return to a more normal relationship with the West.
Supporting the Iranian people in their hour of need is not only the moral thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
Obama appears to be doing just the opposite. His effort to appease the Mullahs won't succeed but it will give the Mullahs more time to develop a nuke and more time to imprison their people. And this is one time Obama won't be able to blame it all on George Bush. Obama has had his way and his policy didn't work, it has made things worse.
This is the consequence of electing an inexperienced community organizer with antipathy towards the successes of American leadership in the world. Sadly, Obama's policy is more likely to endanger peace and foster greater violence in the months ahead!
More scenes from the recent protests:
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