counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums

Perspectives of a second generation Iranian —

I am no expert. However, some things seem clear...

As much as I'd wish there to be change, why must a tinderbox scenario in Iran prevail? It promises a bloodbath, a weakness for foreign opportunists to exploit, an enormous loss of the young and educated, another reason for neocons to beat their chests and fuel their dreams, counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums.

In other words, لازم نیست



Aside from my family being safe and well, there are few things I'd rather see in this world than Iran and the US normalizing relations. The two countries have been effectively at war all my adult life. Even so, behind the scenes preparations have progressed steadily since 2000 – in full contradiction to hubris from political leaders of both sides. Great Satan meets Axis of Evil, for lunch and parlay.

Meanwhile, there are few things which are more difficult for me to watch than continued bloodshed in Iran.

My relatives in Tehran are distant now, sadly no contact at this point, though Emami's are legion. I cannot help but think that if protests and riots erupt, those dying in the streets include my younger cousins. For what reason?

As a card-carrying member of the Green Party, sure yeah it makes my heart race to see another shade of Green spread across Iran. Even so, I have troubles understanding any issue of election fraud or democracy denied. I fear that calls for "democracy" in Iran are mostly an excuse for civil war: domestic despair fueled by intramural power grabs and foreign bloodlust. Putting the "F" back in freedom.

It is absurd to think that Mousavi and Rafsanjani represent reform. Moreover, allegations of election fraud don't appear to hold much significance. Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com pointed out, "The statistical evidence is intriguing but, ultimately, inconclusive." I have little doubt that fraud and dirty tricks occurred, much as they did in Florida in 2004 or Minnesota in 2008. The "religious right" in rural areas overwhelmingly supports Ahmadinejad, not unlike how red-necks in Middle America overwhelmingly support neocons like Cheney. Weeks ago, GOP leaders openly pontificated about bombing Iran. This week they call for riots and bloodshed in the streets to erupt in the name of "democracy". That is pathetic. I would hold no partisanship for America if those fools were allowed to prevail. Fortunately, we have a different government here now, and hopefully a better one.


There are at least three wars descending on Iran, three wars erupting on the same people, in the same physical space.

1, A first war is a power struggle among the surviving leaders of the 1979 Islamic Revolution – those who are still left alive. Khamenei may be Supreme Leader, but he does not reign as an absolute monarch. The clerics who represent his power base appear to have split. Rafsanjani holds enough power – at the moment – to launch an offensive for his own power grab. Khatami could represent a reform candidate, but he seems nowhere to be found.

2, A second war is a psy-ops bonanza, with external parties eager to ignite a tinderbox, seizing their own geopolitical advantage from the aftermath. Those opportunists don't deserve to be named, they simply seek blood and mayhem, for pay.

3, A third war is among the people who will die. If you've never worn a uniform, carried a rifle, had a weapon pointed at you in earnest, I doubt you will understand. The reality is that right now, armies of 20 year olds are preparing to face off in Iran. Some are liberal urban youth or ethnic minorities carrying banners and demanding change. Others are rural religious conservatives wearing uniforms and following orders to open fire on protests.

I am old enough to remember Kent State, when another set of liberal urban youth and ethnic minorities faced off against rural religious conservatives wearing uniforms and following orders to open fire on protests. That is undeniably one face of "democracy" in America.




Instead, why not let the aging leaders of the Islamic Revolution take its rubric with them to their graves? Iran is currently a relatively youthful country. While the median age in the US is 36.7, the median age in Iran is 27. Let the young survive, learn, assemble power, recreate a reasonable state when the time is right – instead of dying in the streets of Tehran in haste. Meanwhile, Turkey and India both have progressive governments, taking center stage as leaders of the region. Follow their leads. Do not allow the US to wield its shadow of hegemony unchecked.

As a young Persian, I was taught to keep one's enemies close, within dagger range, and that real power comes from playing one's enemies against each other. As a grandson of a cleric from an earlier Iran, I ask: Why not let the clerics simply die?

In other words, مشکلی نیست

Perhaps that would be too perfect for a human outcome. A perfection which, as we are taught, offends Allah.