Iran Protests

[Pope Joan]

I have seen this before, a couple times.

Oh boy there is unrest, this will lead to democratic change.

Oops! The hardliners still have a lot of support, and they have used the unrest as a way to regain their power.

It helps nothing that our actions have made the US a stench in their nostrils

[Pyeongan]

Nothing in politics is more unpredictable than a revolution.

[Torrocca]

They're not even militant (yet) how can we offer support to a buncha protesters? Sending them checks seems wildly inefficient and a waste of time.

We could at least announce our support for them, or for free and open elections in Iran free from the influence of the mullahs, at least.

And then the moment they deviate slightly from the American course of action (with maybe a bit of socialism, or maybe a bit of nationalizing the oil refineries) we off the entirety of their new government and install a totalitarian dictator! Surely nothing bad could come of that.

[Republic of the Cristo]

If a revolution is to occur ( which I don't think it will ), I doubt I will support it. Mind you, I am no fan of the Iranian government - but I am no fan of perpetual civil war and sectarian violence, or western liberal consumerism democracy. I suppose a Christian Statist society would be too much to ask for in the middle east though, so... yeah.

[Torrocca]

If a revolution is to occur ( which I don't think it will ), I doubt I will support it. Mind you, I am no fan of the Iranian government - but I am no fan of perpetual civil war and sectarian violence, or western liberal consumerism democracy. I suppose a Christian Statist society would be too much to ask for in the middle east though, so... yeah.

>tfw you ask for exactly what the Iranian government currently is just with a different name

[Senkaku]

"there's protests in [country]!!! is a democratic revolution on the way????????" - western media every time they so much as glimpse an angry crowd somewhere

[Republic of the Cristo]

If a revolution is to occur ( which I don't think it will ), I doubt I will support it. Mind you, I am no fan of the Iranian government - but I am no fan of perpetual civil war and sectarian violence, or western liberal consumerism democracy. I suppose a Christian Statist society would be too much to ask for in the middle east though, so... yeah.

>tfw you ask for exactly what the Iranian government currently is just with a different name

No supreme leader under such a system - checks and balances like in the US. And some super strict anti-corruption laws as well ( big ole problem in iran )

[Republic of the Cristo]

"there's protests in [country]!!! is a democratic revolution on the way????????" - western media every time they so much as glimpse an angry crowd somewhere

*Chuckled*

yeah

[Torrocca]

>tfw you ask for exactly what the Iranian government currently is just with a different name

No supreme leader under such a system - checks and balances like in the US. And some super strict anti-corruption laws as well ( big ole problem in iran )

So basically just a dictatorship with more people dictating things (since you declared no democracy). Hmmm.

"there's protests in [country]!!! is a democratic revolution on the way????????" - western media every time they so much as glimpse an angry crowd somewhere

Fully automated luxury gay space communist revolution, obviously. *Nod*

[Republic of the Cristo]

No supreme leader under such a system - checks and balances like in the US. And some super strict anti-corruption laws as well ( big ole problem in iran )

So basically just a dictatorship with more people dictating things (since you declared no democracy). Hmmm.

"there's protests in [country]!!! is a democratic revolution on the way????????" - western media every time they so much as glimpse an angry crowd somewhere

Fully automated luxury gay space communist revolution, obviously. *Nod*

Well, there is a publicly elected legislature whom is responsible for law creation, and a chief executive whom is elected like wise ( both of whom have term limits and are bound by a constitution ).

I would love to debate you about my ideology all night long, but do you really give much credence to my ( obviously ) improbable desires?

[Kramania]

We could at least announce our support for them, or for free and open elections in Iran free from the influence of the mullahs, at least.

And then the moment they deviate slightly from the American course of action (with maybe a bit of socialism, or maybe a bit of nationalizing the oil refineries) we off the entirety of their new government and install a totalitarian dictator! Surely nothing bad could come of that.

Another socialist trying to nail himself to a cross.

I'm. A tale as old as, err, well, the existence of socialism.

[Autarchist Hinodia]

Sure, it looks like it’s going to have some kind of impact or maybe incite some change in Iran, but with how powerful and hardline the government is I honestly doubt that much will come of these protests, and I doubt even more that the aftermath will be bloodless. The best we can really hope for is some Tiananmen-like series of events where the government will be forced to make concessions and at least some small reforms. Even so, I hope to be proven wrong.

[Torrocca]

And then the moment they deviate slightly from the American course of action (with maybe a bit of socialism, or maybe a bit of nationalizing the oil refineries) we off the entirety of their new government and install a totalitarian dictator! Surely nothing bad could come of that.

Another socialist trying to nail himself to a cross.

I'm. A tale as old as, err, well, the existence of socialism.

I mean, we could always just pretend that the US wouldn't ever dare to meddle in the affairs of Iran. No siree. In fact, the Shah never even existed.

[Kramania]

Another socialist trying to nail himself to a cross.

I'm. A tale as old as, err, well, the existence of socialism.

I mean, we could always just pretend that the US wouldn't ever dare to meddle in the affairs of Iran. No siree. In fact, the Shah never even existed.

Of course we meddle. We are a country with interests to protect like, you know, every other country on the face of the bloody earth.

[New Grestin]

This is nice and all, but we are still talking about a violent, authoritarian regime. The only reason these protestors aren't just being outright shot in the streets is because the world is actually watching for once.

The moment people stop paying attention, the Islamist regime will go right back to playing discount Cold War with the Saudis and oppressing their own people.

And hell, if the rest of the Middle East is any indication, the extremely unlikely fall of the Islamist regime is just going to mean decades of civil war likely perpetuated by foreign adventurism from the Americans, Russians, Saudis and lord knows who else. And given the trend of the region, god help us if we end up with ISIS 2.0 in a region that's even harder to run them out of.

[Torrocca]

I mean, we could always just pretend that the US wouldn't ever dare to meddle in the affairs of Iran. No siree. In fact, the Shah never even existed.

Of course we meddle. We are a country with interests to protect like, you know, every other country on the face of the bloody earth.

Mmhmm. It'd be better if we, y'know, didn't, though, considering what ended up happening to the last democratic government in Iran and then the aftermath of the succeeding government.

[Nakena]

It's unlikely something will come out of the protests, they do not have any leadership or plan to replace the regime anyways. As far as the Supreme Leader is concerned, someday he is going to pass away and after that changes might be happen.

[Kramania]

Of course we meddle. We are a country with interests to protect like, you know, every other country on the face of the bloody earth.

Mmhmm. It'd be better if we, y'know, didn't, though, considering what ended up happening to the last democratic government in Iran and then the aftermath of the succeeding government.

I'll take the gamble of supporting democratic protesters over the continued existence of the Islamonazi government they currently have.

[Kramania]

Snip

[New Grestin]

Of course we meddle. We are a country with interests to protect like, you know, every other country on the face of the bloody earth.

Mmhmm. It'd be better if we, y'know, didn't, though, considering what ended up happening to the last democratic government in Iran and then the aftermath of the succeeding government.

Foreign interventionism is kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situation. If you just cut a country loose with strong ties, you might send the new regime packing into the arms of a rival world power. If you don't and intervene, you'll potentially end up pissing away hundreds of thousands of lives, billions of dollars and immense political capital on a glorified brushfire conflict for a few years that will more than likely nuke any good will your government had beforehand.

[Nakena]

If the past decades have shown anything, then that interventionism and nation-building was a near complete failure. That those concepts are not going to work out at all.

[Senkaku]

Of course we meddle. We are a country with interests to protect like, you know, every other country on the face of the bloody earth.

Mmhmm. It'd be better if we, y'know, didn't, though, considering what ended up happening to the last democratic government in Iran and then the aftermath of the succeeding government.

Tbh, the US can meddle away, ain't gonna change shit unless these things somehow spontaneously get a lot bigger, which I don't think they will.

We could at least announce our support for them, or for free and open elections in Iran free from the influence of the mullahs, at least.

And then the moment they deviate slightly from the American course of action (with maybe a bit of socialism, or maybe a bit of nationalizing the oil refineries) we off the entirety of their new government and install a totalitarian dictator! Surely nothing bad could come of that.

Well, maybe we should get better at convincing people not to deviate from the American course of action without having to topple governments left and right. But it's silly to expect the United States to not try and protect its interests, or to be able to predict the future with perfect accuracy.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Of course we meddle. We are a country with interests to protect like, you know, every other country on the face of the bloody earth.

Mmhmm. It'd be better if we, y'know, didn't, though, considering what ended up happening to the last democratic government in Iran and then the aftermath of the succeeding government.

I'm not one for imperialism... but I do agree that America should act as the world's police. We have done some truly awful things in the name of protecting American interests - but consider how worse things would be had we chosen to take a step back. What if we just never chose not to assist in the campaign against ISIS? What if we just suddenly stopped supporting the Afghan government? What if we just pulled all our military units out of S korea and Japan? The same goes for Europe. Imagine if we just left Israel to their own devices, how extreme they would suddenly become after being left to fend for themselves.

America has made some truly terrible mistakes across the world - but the tapestry has been knit, and if we leave it now it could run the risk of completely unraveling into chaos... or worse, someone takes our place. Could you imagine china or Russia being the world's police?

America must remain at the top and involved in world affairs, but we must be more humble and considerate in doing so in the future.

[The Conez Imperium]

Mmhmm. It'd be better if we, y'know, didn't, though, considering what ended up happening to the last democratic government in Iran and then the aftermath of the succeeding government.

I'm not one for imperialism... but I do agree that America should act as the world's police. We have done some truly awful things in the name of protecting American interests - but consider how worse things would be had we chosen to take a step back. What if we just never chose not to assist in the campaign against ISIS? What if we just suddenly stopped supporting the Afghan government? What if we just pulled all our military units out of S korea and Japan? The same goes for Europe. Imagine if we just left Israel to their own devices, how extreme they would suddenly become after being left to fend for themselves.

America has made some truly terrible mistakes across the world - but the tapestry has been knit, and if we leave it now it could run the risk of completely unraveling into chaos... or worse, someone takes our place. Could you imagine china or Russia being the world's police?

America must remain at the top and involved in world affairs, but we must be more humble and considerate in doing so in the future.

There's a difference between combating a rouge terrorist organisation that is not officially recognised like a country, and interfering in a countries internal affairs because they're not democratic/having no western liberal values.

Sure blow up the terrorist but don't think that ISIS and the Islamic government are somehow the same thing. This is a similar line of thinking that led to the disintegration of various governments in the middle east thanks to American intervention.

[Verlzonia]

Syrian Civil War 2.0, now with more refugees!

But It doesn't really mind me, as my government just sends most of our refugees to Nauru. I actually have a friend who is considerably richer than me and his mum has a job (a good one too, an accountant/lawyer). But then again, his name is Mustafa & he is a Turk which explains it.