Although the Washington Post's front page has been spattered with dubious stories, politically charged headlines and the occasional outright distortion, its editorial page is still sane; if not indispensible. While much of Washington works to maintain status quo with Tehran, freedom fighters young and old struggle to bring down the theocratic mullahs who oppress them. Although the popular progressive movement generally despises President Mohammed Khatami, the Post sees danger in allowing the reform-absent "reformist" to be politically cut down by reactionary clerics:
[I]ran's conservative clergy is engaged in an aggressive campaign to destroy, once and for all, the country's democratic reform movement. Before proceeding, the United States and Europe ought to draw the right conclusions from that political struggle.The crisis began earlier this month when a clerical body, the Guardian Council, banned nearly 4,000 candidates for next month's elections, including more than 80 incumbent members of parliament. The council's aim was to prevent a repeat of the 2000 elections, in which democratic reformers won a parliamentary majority. By rigging this election, the mullahs would prepare the way for replacing Iran's reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, with a conservative next year.
They have, er, immoral support from some Western nations:
Hassan Rowhani, the hard-liner who has begun speaking for Iran on subjects such as nuclear inspections, was received in Paris last week by French President Jacques Chirac, even while the reformist parliamentarians were engaged in a sit-in to protest their banishment.
Once more: the French may be offering token assistance against terrorism in Africa and elsewhere, but they are not our strategic partners - far from. The Post offers a warning:
The White House has tended to discount his party in favor of the more radical youth movement that, it is hoped, might eventually bring revolutionary regime change to Iran. Some officials argue that Iran's hard-liners are at least as interested as Mr. Khatami in striking a deal with the West - and more able to deliver on their promises.It would be a mistake, however, to ignore a conservative coup...Whatever the outcome of the crisis...the West's interest lies in standing with Iran's pro-democracy majority - even if that means an end to the latest diplomatic thaw.
The majority of Iran is both pro-democratic and pro-Western, with strong feelings of solidarity with and appreciation for America. Even more so than Iraq, Iran has a population that is quite ready and willing to undertake self-government. The mullahs are prime exporters of terror; Khatami has not delivered. How long until Plan A, parleying with the mullahs, is fully understood as the fruitless engagement that it is?