(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Chanting "Death to the dictator!," tens of thousands turned out in Tehran, Shiraz and other Iranian cities Monday to demand political change, the biggest protests in 14 months, but revolution will be harder in Iran than in Egypt and Tunisia. The regime in Tehran feels zero compunction or shame about repressing political opponents, while Mubarak and Egypt's military, dependent on U.S. aid and support, were susceptible to outside pressure to shun violence. Iran's military is too marginalized to play honest broker as the armed forces did in Tunisia and Egypt. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps holds the real police power in Iran as well as huge stakes in the economy. The revolution will come to Iran eventually. Iranians are overwhelmingly young and pro-American, and they hate their anti-American regime. But in the meantime, the U.S. and its allies need a far tougher strategy of isolation, pressure, and louder and more active support for Iran's democrats.
2011-02-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive