The one-year anniversary of Iran's disputed election passed quietly Saturday with little more than a subdued Internet appeal by opposition leaders for supporters to speak out on the Web against government repression.
Fearing bloodshed and calculating that it would gain them nothing, the movement's leaders called off a day of mass protests, reflecting their increasing powerlessness against the government's military muscle. Witnesses and the opposition reported a few isolated confrontations in the capital.
The protesters are largely suppressed, now.
The history of the last year's relations with Iran over their nukes and support of terrorists who kill American soldiers kind of makes the Obama administration's decision to reach out to the mullahs with an open hand rather than offering even a little bit of vocal moral support to the dissidents seem somewhat less than the "smart diplomacy" we were promised.
But at least the protesters aren't "tainted" with President Obama's support. That has to count for a lot, right?
