Death To The Dictator

Students in Tehran have once again taken to the streets demanding the overthrow of their government with shouts that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, knows his days are over and they set fire to pictures of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Islamic leaders have sent their goons into the streets and to universities around the country to beat down the protesters. This on the heels of protests earlier this year that resulted in the scores of deaths.

But as we have seen time and time again when Democratic movements begin they seldom are put down permanently and ultimately succeed.

How the United States deals with this current crisis could shape the Persian Gulf region for generations to come. For thirty years the Islamic Revolution has held a tight grip around the necks of the people of Iran but the grip may not hold much longer.

We have an opportunity to move into a new era if the government fails there, one where peaceful coexistence is possible between our two countries. But there is extreme distrust of America in Iran and for good reason.

The United States has had a rather ignominious and stormy relationship with Iran. After World War II the U.S. and the Soviet Union were locked in a cold war struggle across the globe and Iran with its long border with the Soviets and its oil riches made it a target of American foreign policy influence.

After Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq began nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1952-1953, the CIA financed and organized a coup in what has become a pivotal moment in American-Iranian relations.

After Mossadeq was imprisoned, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was installed by the U.S. and began a brutal and bloody reign from 1953 to 1979 when the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and a thirty year period of anti-American fervor has been part and parcelof Iranian nationalism ever since.

The Iranians also remember well the U.S. support of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the war between those two countries that resulted in the loss of over one million lives.

But today there is a chink in the armor of the Mullahs who run Iran. They are despised by many who want separation of religion and politics. They are also distrusted and have come under attack for last June's tainted election that many feel fraudulently reinstalled Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President.

The United States has a rare opportunity to help break the back of the Islamic front in Iran that is hurriedly working to develop nuclear arms capabilities and supports terrorists organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas in the Middle East.

The U.S. must cautiously work to support the opposition to the oppressive Islamist regime but any overt intrusion into the affairs of that state will surely backfire.

Opening lines of communications so the protest movement can see how the demonstrations are playing in the West is critically important. Lending support to Iranian nationals who have fled the regime and live abroad but who have influence inside Iran can also be utilized to lend support. Bringing to light the killing, imprisonment and torture of demonstrators before the United Nations and other world bodes will also help to erode the power of the Mullahs.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, "there is no God higher than truth" and in Iran right now the truth is pitted against the vision of God perpetrated by sinister men who have twisted their religion to seize power and stamp out freedom. Like the Shah, they too shall be swept away!