June 25, 2009
The repression of pro-opposition demonstrators in Iran has added some clarity to the worldwide discussion of the regime and its character. Even Roger Cohen, a New York Times columnist who had written that the Iranian government offers “significant margins of freedom by regional standards,” now writes, “I erred in underestimating the brutality and cynicism of a regime that understands the uses of ruthlessness.”
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this year declared the Islamic Republic a “symbol of true democracy.” He has been exposed, along with the clerics who control him, as a power-hungry despot more interested in self-preservation than in creating what he once called (try not to gag) “a vibrant and dynamic society in which people widely participate in the political life.”
Clarity, however, is not the same as wisdom. Some are demanding from the White House the sort of blood and thunder statements that do nothing but give the police state the excuses it needs to blame “outside agitation.” (Indeed, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, pinned the post-election unrest on the “evil Zionist-owned media.”) Others seemed to be relieved by an Ahmadinejad victory, lest the West be lulled into a false sense of security. Such wishful thinking suggests a mindset more interested in confrontation (and warfare) than the possibilities for reform, diplomatic engagement, and nonviolent solutions.
In the face of the turmoil in Iran, humility and restraint are called for. The ruthlessness of the anti-democracy crackdown suggests why Israel and the United States remain deeply concerned about Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities. But something has shifted in the region, a shift that may actually take place in Arab capitals that have much to fear from a dominant and ambitious Iran. Quietly, some have begun to talk of the self-interest shared by Israel and the Sunni Arabs in containing Iran. Others have spoken of a spirit, once unleashed, that cannot be contained by tear gas or a policeman’s baton. Such talk offers the possibility of new alignments and alternatives beyond the military option.
Iran is blunt in its ambitions and cruel in its methods. The West’s response need be neither.
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