Mr Peace ("Shalom") seems poised to renounce his family name, if there is any kind of consistency in this world.

Can it really be true that the media cannot corroborate whether or not Jundullah took responsibility? This should be easily determined public knowledge... either they did or they didn't. If only one American civil servant could be re-purposed to something useful, like basic public fact-finding.

(From Iran's Press TV)
"President Ahmadinejad reacted to the attack and demanded Pakistan eradicate the terrorist group Jundullah, which has taken responsibility for the bombing. "

Up to the allegations of deadly beatings, this article sounds just like what happened to me and many other anti corporate globalization activists in Miami in 2003 protesting the FTAA meeting held there. There was abuse and indefinite detention without charge. I was held on felony charges for almost a week for having a pair of medical sheers in a medical kit. Most charges were dropped after the meeting was long over, after even many of our lawyers were detained for days for protesting our detention.

The US needs to get its own house in order before pointing fingers about human rights elsewhere. The disputed nature of Iran's election was more hype than substance... the most popular candidate clearly won. The US has given Iran lots of reasons to be repressive and brutal, including overthrowing democratic governments and arming terrorists. We must stop such policies so they can never resume, or innocent people will continue to suffer and die for decades to come, and relations with Iran will only deteriorate.

According to this Raw story article in April 2006 ( <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/US_outsourcing_..." target="_blank">http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/US_outsourcing_... ), at least at that point, the MEK was disarmed of only their heavy weapons, not small arms. It should also be noted that they have at least until recently been used by the US for covert operations inside Iran.

For more info on US funding of terrorism in Iran, see the NH Making Waves website:
<a href="http://www.freewebs.com/sprav/US-TERROR-EVIDENCE...." target="_blank">http://www.freewebs.com/sprav/US-TERROR-EVIDENCE.... .

You haven't apparently been corrected yet that "millions of Iranians took to the streets objecting to the landslide victory..."

See Foreign Policy Journal ( http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2009/06/23/ha... ), citing Noam Cohen, “Twitter on the Barricades: Six Lessons Learned”, New York Times, June 20, 2009:

While much of what was being Twittered has since been confirmed, there has been no shortage of dubious information going around. The New York Times observed that “just as Twitter has helped get out first-hand reports from Tehran, it has also spread inaccurate information, perhaps even disinformation.” Among the false information spread via Twitter and repeated by bloggers were: “That three millon protested in Tehran last weekend (more like a few hundred thousand); that the opposition candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi was under house arrest (he was being watched); that the president of the election monitoring committee declared the election invalid last Saturday (not so).”

I do appreciate your more sober tone in this article compared to previous. It's a tricky line to walk to analyze without completely speculating. - Steve

The author seems to be intentionally missing the point here. Up to 3 million votes may sound like a lot, but this is a country of over 70 million people, according to wikipedia. Iran's government said they may annul votes from specific ballot boxes affected by this irregularity. This is a minor structural issue in the electoral process, like occurs in countless countries commonly viewed as democratic with free elections.

Imagine if after losing the last election, John McCain suddenly claimed the election process was illegitimate because it lacks instant runoff voting, thus oppressing minority opinions and not representing the will of the people. While true, the whole point to elections is that you can't cherry-pick the results and complain about the process only when it doesn't go your way.

No one in their right mind should believe for a moment that the election results do not reflect the will of the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad received roughly the same support he has in previous elections, consistent with the results of polls conducted by numerous western organizations. Is he a nasty conservative? Yes, but a democratically elected one. Is the use of riot police on nonviolent protesters ever appropriate? No more than it is when Russia, France, or the US does it.

Iran's current conflict needs to be understood in the context of their internal class issues and the malevolent role the US continues to play. We need to remember for once that Iran is a sovereign country that we have no right to interfere with. Anyone suddenly afflicted with concern over human rights need only look at the apartheid fundamentalist state of Israel, where the US is arming the oppressors. Or wonder how the US policy of arming terrorist organizations in Iran serves human rights. Let us not be arrogant, and focus on stopping the harm our nation is doing.

I too am pretty shocked Justin that you would validate the Washington Post's Numerology and voodoo psychology as "proof" that the Iranian election was fraudulent. There is not one shred of real proof that there was any election fraud. Indeed, the results mirrored previous elections and polls conducted by western organizations.

While progressives should not celebrate Ahmadinejad's election victory, nor should any of us be shocked when conservatives win elections. Especially when US soldiers are at their borders and millions are being spent by the US to violently destabilize Iran, there will be a tendency to "rally around the flag." Stick to the facts, hold the propaganda and wishful thinking Justin.