News Nuggets 178

Protests in Tehran earlier today from the BBC

For those who missed my special mini-nuggets special from earlier, Nico Pitney has been live-blogging events in Iran for Huffington Post.

THIS came across the screen early this morning:

"2:01 AM ET -- Aslan: Rafsanjani calls "emergency" meeting of Assembly of Experts. If true, this is a bombshell. Appearing on CNN last night, Iran expert Reza Aslan reported this: 'There are very interesting things that are taking place right now. Some of my sources in Iran have told me that Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who is the head of the Assembly of Experts -- the eighty-six member clerical body that decides who will be the next Supreme Leader, and is, by the way, the only group that is empowered to remove the Supreme Leader from power -- that they have issued an emergency meeting in Qom.  Now, Anderson, I have to tell you, there's only one reason for the Assembly of Experts to meet at this point, and that is to actually talk about what to do about Khamenei. So, this is what I'm saying, is that we're talking about the very legitimacy, the very foundation of the Islamic Republic is up in the air right now. It's hard to say what this is going to go."

Last night, this also showed up:

Extraordinary Scenes: Robert Fisk in Iran from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

"At one point, Mousavi's supporters were shouting 'thank you, thank you' to the soldiers.  One woman went up to the special forces men, who

normally are very brutal with Mr Mousavi's supporters, and said 'can you protect us from the Basij?' He said 'with God's help'.  ... The military authorities in Tehran have either taken a decision not to go on supporting the very brutal militia - which is always associated with the presidency here - or individual soldiers have made up their own mind that they're tired of being associated with the kind of brutality that left seven dead yesterday."

The opposition is escalating the pressure, perhaps pushing for a showdown tomorrow.

Opposition Leader Calls New Iran Rally from the Independent.  

A lot of interesting related content is also available from the Independent at this site.

"The Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi issued a direct challenge today to the country's supreme leader and cleric-led system, calling for a mass rally to protest disputed election results and violence against his followers."

Call for Day of Mourning in Iran from the BBC

"More mass protests are expected in the Iranian capital after presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi urged followers to observe a day of mourning."

Back in the day of Iran's revolution in 1979, these 'Mourning Marches' for the protesters that were killed usually led to more deaths -- then followed by more mourning marches, and on and on.  The hard liners are going to want to avoid playing this game at almost any cost.  It's a VERY SAVVY move on Mousavi's part.  He's basically using the Iranian Revolution's 'greatest hits' against the current regime, a regime made up almost exclusively of veterans of that 1979 revolution.  

Crisis in Iran Has Moved Far Beyond a Dispute Over Elections from the BBC

"It has turned into a struggle over the balance of power in the country, and Iran's future orientation.  ... It may have some way to run yet before it is resolved."

Tienanmen in Tehran (Michael Hirsh) from Newsweek

The title of this article doesn't quite capture the Hirsh's central point.

"When I visited Iran two years ago this month, one thing was clear from my reporting: there was virtually no prospect that Iran's Islamic regime would collapse any time in the foreseeable future. A lot of people hated the clerics, but apart from a few dissident voices, the political opposition was all but gone. Well, it's baaack. And the consequences for the clerics are likely to be far more dire than the last time political ferment appeared in force, when reformist President Mohammad Khatami took office in the 1990s."

Why Washington is Playing it Safe from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]

"John McCain doesn't have to display any presidential reserve. The defeated Republican candidate for the White House can rant and rave now just as he did during the campaign. ... The White House, however, is being far more cautious in its approach. Three days after the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the US government is favoring soft rhetoric over tough political statements.

Critics of Barack Obama's Foreign Policy Need to Get Real (Editorial) from the Independent [of London]

"The rest of the world had better get used to it, because this may be the shape of US foreign policy for a good while to come. And what a refreshing change it could be, too."

Shunning the Mullahs from the National Interest

Interesting analysis of what's happening in Iran, taking something of a 'big picture' view.  It seems to me that Obama is following the prescription laid out here.

"The mishandling of the recent presidential election in Iran may go down as the pivotal event in the history of the Islamic Republic. Saddam Hussein and the mighty United States could not bring the regime down. Yet, human hubris, greed and misjudgments of monumental proportions by the country’s leadership may do what threats, sanctions and armies could not."

Taliban Leaders Report Progress in Secret Talks With US, Afghanistan from the Global Post

An interesting development with intermediaries talking with the Taliban -- this may be how the conflict in Afghanistan gets resolved.  Don't look to close.

"Moderate leaders of the Taliban say they have quietly and steadily made progress in third-party talks between the active Taliban insurgency and representatives of the Afghan and U.S. governments."

Lebanon and Iran: Mr. Obama's Push of Dialogue and Openness Kicks In from L'Orient Le Jour [of Lenanon in English]

"A more realistic and objective perspective of the Persian situation … is reflected in the policy of dialogue and openness established by President Barack Obama. … In the past often considered of minimal importance, this time our country [Lebanon] has its share of the Obama vision."

Gosh, Why Does This Keep Happening to Us? from Daily Kos

A disturbing (but not surprising) overview of the EXTENT of the domestic spying done by the previous administration.

"The National Security Agency is facing renewed scrutiny over the extent of its domestic surveillance program, with critics in Congress saying its recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged, current and former officials said."