Could Iran Be The Next Egypt?

The last time I wrote about Egypt, Mubarak said he wouldn't run for office in September, but he wasn't stepping down either.  I wrote that it wouldn't be a matter of if, but when Mubarak stepped down from power.  Now, of course, Mubarak is gone, and the question everyone is asking is "what is next for Egypt"?  For the time being, we should allow Egypt to have their moment.  The people of Egypt have earned this after 30 years of corrupt and dictatorial rule.

 

Photo from The Atlantic Council 

Just so people remember that blood was shed in this revolution, here is a website to remember those that died during the protests of the past few weeks.

Another question people are asking is, "Who Is Next?"  Based on the events in both Egypt and Tunisia, some believe that pro-democracy movements will continue to spread across Muslim and Middle Eastern countries.  One country that has naturally been mentioned as a possibility of a new revolution taking place is Iran.  While I don't want to make any presumptions, it would not be so crazy at this stage to suggest a pro-democracy revolution could take place there.  If you are not familiar with the Green Uprising after the 2009 elections in Iran, familiarize yourself NOW.  For starters, here is the Wikipedia web page to look at explaining the events.

 

Photo from Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish

 

And according to news sources, it appears that anti-government protests are already being planned for Monday in Tehran.  Again, I don't want to be presumptuous, but revolution in Iran is not out of the question.

 

I understand that from a strategic, foreign policy standpoint, there is not much President Obama can do (nor should he do).  However, there really is nothing more American than what is going on across the world today.  While these are different times, and these revolutions are taking places in different parts of the world for their own unique causes, I can't help but think of the American revolution whenever I see Tahrir Square or the Green Uprising.  The following words from our Declaration of Independence seem so applicable to what is going on today:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

On a side note, to those in the Tea Party who compare themselves to the Minutemen and think the Obama Administration is oppressing you and infringing upon your rights, I have this to say: Go talk to someone who has lived under the Mubarak regime or who lives in Iran, and compare and contrast what life is like for them and for you.  See who really has it rough.

Finally, check out this video in support of the Green Uprising in Iran.  While I am not a big fan of this particular Muse song, I do enjoy the video and the passion it evokes.