(Washington Post) Ray Takeyh - As Iran's streets erupt with pro-democracy demonstrations, it is all too obvious that the only option the U.S. has in altering the Islamic Republic's behavior is to support the Green Movement. The key challenge for the U.S. is to find ways to connect with the Green Movement. As important as social media or rhetorical declarations may be, such measures are limited. The model of Eastern Europe is instructive, as the West managed to covertly use a range of institutions, such as the Catholic Church and labor unions, to funnel assistance to dissidents. Several parts of Iranian civil society - labor syndicates, savvy youth, clerical dissidents, liberal protesters and universities - exist in a state of perpetual rebellion; they deserve to be beneficiaries of American advice and assistance. The demise of the Islamic Republic is inevitable. Should the Middle East move toward realizing the aspirations of its citizens, and embrace pluralism and accountability, it is hard to see how a retrogressive clerical tyranny can persist in the region. The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
2011-02-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive