Security forces and militiamen clashed with thousands of protesters shouting "death to the dictator" outside Tehran University on Monday, beating them with batons and firing tear gas on a day of nationwide student demonstrations, witnesses said.
The protests were the largest in months, as university students — a bedrock of support for the pro-reform movement — sought to energize the opposition with rallies at campuses across the country. The opposition has been reeling under a fierce crackdown since turmoil erupted over the disputed presidential election in June.
But we've made our choice. We assume the regime will win, even though the mullahs have inconveniently for our State Department failed to win yet.
If the regime doesn't win, will the democracy protesters still be pro-American? Will a post-mullah Iran that once boasted one of the few Islamic countries to have a positive view of America remember our abandonment with anger or appreciation that we didn't "taint" them with even words of support for them or cautions to the regime to refrain from human rights abuses?
Nuance isn't as easy as it looks, you know.
