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The Great Satan Myth

(New Republic) Abbas Milani - As the Iranian regime has teetered these past months, many in the U.S. (and especially at the highest rungs of government) have held their tongues. There has been a reluctance to voice solidarity with the green movement or to loudly protest regime abuses. Obama, for his part, has voiced his support for the protestors in passive language. "The world continues to bear witness to their powerful calls for justice" is his strange formulation - a description that places the U.S. in the role of bystander. Will the U.S. stand on the side of Iranian democracy now? The worry one hears most often in Washington is that such a stand will backfire; it will bolster the mullahs by annoying the innate nationalism of the Iranian people. But this misunderstands the regime. No matter what the U.S. does - even if it maintains a studied silence - the regime will describe its opponents as U.S. tools. This accusation is a political necessity for the mullahs and deeply embedded in their worldview. Besides, no matter how much the regime denounces the Great Satan, Iranians, on the whole, remain positively disposed to the U.S., at least relative to the rest of the Muslim world. The writer is Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford, where he is the co-director of the Iran Democracy Project.
2009-12-09 08:26:39
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