The Tragedy of the Left's Discourse on Iran
Znet / Saeed Rahnema
09-Jul-2009 (4 comments)

The electoral coup and the subsequent uprising and suppression of the revolting voters in Iran have prompted all sorts of analyses in Western media from both the Right and the Left. The Right, mostly inspired by the neo-con ideology and reactionary perspectives, dreams of the re-creation of the Shah's Iran, looks for pro-American/pro-Israeli allies among the disgruntled Iranian public, and seeks an Eastern European type velvet revolution. As there is very little substance to these analyses, they are hardly worth much critical review; and one cannot expect them to try to understand the complexities of Iranian politics and society.

As for the Left in the West, confusions abound. The progressive left, from the beginning openly supported the Iranian civil society movement.  Znet, Campaign for Peace and Democracy, Bullet, and some other media provided sound analysis to help others understand the complexities of the Iranian situation (see, for example, here

).  Some intellectuals signed petitions along with their Iranian counterparts, while others chose to remain silent. But disturbingly, like in the situations in Gaza or Lebanon, where Hamas and Hezbollah uncritically became champions of anti-imperialism, for some other people on the left, Ahmadinejad has become a champion b... >>>
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Farhad Kashani

I’ve said all along that

by Farhad Kashani on

I’ve said all along that the Left is an accomplice in the murders and crimes of regimes such as Iran, Cuba, N Korea and others, and the reason is simple and I posted it today on another piece of news.  Today’s conflicts consist of few components and public opinion and relations being one of the most important of those components,. Since global media has been hijacked by the Left, and the Left in order to character assassinate its adversaries, and specifically America, portray anti Fascism and pro democracy and pro freedom movements and politicians and groups as “extremists” and “Neo Cons” and “imperialists” and “Zionist” and things like that. Left’s manipulation on public opinion has resulted in disastrous consequences. The Jon Stewarts and moveon.org and Cindy Sheehan and Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Kucinich and antiwar.com and NorAm Chomsky’s of the world, unfortunately, shape up public opinion. 

 

You can’t be progressive just because you are let’s say “pro abortion” but on the other hand justify for the crimes of regimes such as IRI or blame them on others. That makes you “pro Fascism” and regressive. And you’re not an extremist if you call for international intervention in support of oppressed people like Iranians. Intervention doesn’t mean dropping bombs and no one “hates Iran” and no one wants “Iran’s oils” at the expense of starting a war with Iran, and these are not “Israeli conspiracies” although Israel has the right to defend itself against IRIs aggression. Those days are gone. In this intertwined world, you can’t be doing those things. Politics has never been out in the open like it is now due to the information age and globalization (thanks to America!). So those Leftist conspiracy theories could’ve fooled some in the past, but not anymore.

 

Anyone who believes such thing as “neo colonialism” exists, he himself, lives in the colonial era mentality and has been brainwashed by left leaning history book and historical analyses. The world has changed and they’re still stuck in the 1950s! That’s why they get it wrong all the time.

  


Fred

ذوالفقار، سـرزنـشها گر کند خار مغیلان، غم مخور

Fred


 The redeeming nature of truth makes it impossible to be obscure and hidden for long. The truth shall set us free.


Zulfiqar110

That's what I've doing on a host of online leftwing lists

by Zulfiqar110 on

The past 4 weeks has really shown me how unbelievably out to lunch much of the leftwing circles are in the Western hemisphere regarding Iran. I have been decried on one Marxist list as being a rightwing reactionary crackpot for suggesting that Ahmadinejad's anti-Western, so-called anti-Imperialist populism is hollow and lacks credible progressive substance as a viable, longterm political platform for the anti-globalist movement to rally around. Believe me, we are dealing with many fools on the activist front, especially in the Anglophone world. The European lefties, especially the Germans, are only slightly better than their North American comrades - and only just.

Your points are well taken and I share the concern completely.


Fred

The triumvirate

by Fred on

As tiring and banal as it might be to some, the Islamists/Anti-Semites and their likeminded lefty allies have indeed formed an easily recognizable triumvirate of convenience. The provided link to the “one writer” that the author refers to is none other than Rostam Pourzal the head of the U.S. branch of CASMII lobby.

 

As has been the case with the Tudeh party these capitalist lefties too will always be linked to all that which was bad for Iran and Iranians.  It is up to the genuine left , the ones that in their absence the right quickly soars and creates disaster, the vice versa applies, to publicly out the lefties amongst them and at the same time SPEAK UP against the inhumanity that  is going on in the Islamist republic.