Those Friendly Iranians

[democratic]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/opinion/05KRIS.html?ex=1084334400&en=7ccf24ea4910bb18&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Those Friendly Iranians
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

TEHRAN, Iran

Finally, I've found a pro-American country.

Everywhere I've gone in Iran, with one exception, people have been exceptionally friendly and fulsome in their praise for the United States, and often for President Bush as well. Even when I was detained a couple of days ago in the city of Isfahan for asking a group of young people whether they thought the Islamic revolution had been a mistake (they did), the police were courteous and let me go after an apology.

They apologized; I didn't.

In the 1960's and 1970's, the U.S. spent millions backing a pro-Western modernizing shah — and the result was an outpouring of venom that led to our diplomats' being held hostage. Since then, Iran has been ruled by mullahs who despise everything we stand for — and now people stop me in the bazaar to offer paeans to America as well as George Bush.

Partly because being pro-American is a way to take a swipe at the Iranian regime, anything American, from blue jeans to "Baywatch," is revered. At the bookshops, Hillary Clinton gazes out from three different pirated editions of her autobiography.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[Robb]

1. Wheeeee

...let the second half of the propaganda push for dropping the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act begin! We won't be letting those pesky Japanese oil companies have all of that Iranian shelf development! :eyes:

[democratic]

2. .

As Iranian i can tell you that this isn't propaganda.

The anti-American crap you hear on the news about Iran *is* propaganda by both the Islamic Republic and the US Media.

;)

Regards.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. You don't read Kristof, do you?

He's a Pullitzer prize winner who frequently bitches about the Shrubster. He does a lot of international editorials, and I'd urge you to read some of them before passing judgement:

http://www.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html

[BlueMole]

8. Kristof

also claims our support of (..a pro-western modernizing shah..) led to hostage crisis.

but neglects to mention the SAVAK repression and torture, followed by the Feb revolution. Shah flees (with a pile of $$$).

The hostages were seized when the deposed Shah was allowed to leave exile in Panama for medical treatment in the US in Nov. Teheran went nuts. The mullahs shrewdly used the crisis to consolidate their power

[Wright Patman]

4. Israel

does not agree with any of this and I would assume it is because they are in missile range of the mullahs and realize that the mullahs control the military.

[JPace]

5. This is a country that had it's own revolution 20+ years ago,

and is now leaning toward democracy.....totally
without our interference. If they do adopt a
democracy it will have evolved out of their own
culture and will be more likely to succeed.

We should get out of Iraq and let them get on
with their revolutions.

[maxsolomon]

6. sounds like we should invade to save the young

from the mullahs.

then they'll love us.

[Moderator]

7. democratic44

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
news source.

Thank you.

DU Moderator

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. This is most definately true, and many have been pointing this

out for quite a while.

The first thing to understand, Iranians are NOT Arabs. They are Persians, long natural foes of Arabs.

Persians have, with the exception of the last 20 years, long-standing interest in friendly relations with every modern culture. Of course, the idiots in charge of our foreign policy can't take advantage of this, so it is a moot point at best.