Muhammad Sahimi provides an insightful historical perspective on the political situation in Iran:
Iran’s rigged presidential election of June 12, 2009, has given rise to a very odd phenomenon. Some supposedly leftists and progressives in America have adopted the view that the Iranian election was not rigged. They believe that the Iranian reformists have not been honest about the election (they say the reformists knew they would lose). They allege that the demonstrations in Iran against the rigged election are mostly the work of Western intelligence agencies stirring up trouble. In taking such a position, these so-called leftists and progressives have firmly sided with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The “very odd phenomenon” observed by Sahimi is not terribly surprising. As I have argued, the radical left is not motivated by the ideals of democracy and human rights – they are fighting capitalism and American Imperialism. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, and the left is willing to turn a blind eye to the people of Iran in the administration of this fight.
