There’s a cheery text-and-video greeting from Hillary, very chatty and friendly (“Welcome to the United States’ Virtual Embassy in Tehran!” she starts, as if the State Department server were in the capital instead of in the ether), so even if we’re not going to end their misery, she’d love to hear from them.
I think the tone is all wrong, and her message strikes me as coming from some other planet, a happy planet where Iranians are not dying every day because the regime doesn’t like people who go online and send chatty messages to the American secretary of state. Here’s Hillary again:
This is a platform for us to communicate with each other—openly and without fear—about the United States, about our policies, our culture, and the American people.
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Hillary certainly knows that the regime has mastered Internet filtering and monitoring, and most savvy Iranians know that if they send a breezy note to Hillary, some nasty troll will spot it and report them for it…so Hillary’s line about chatting “openly and without fear” is entirely wrong. In fact, one will get you ten that most Iranians will view this as some kind of snare, and will stay away, and most of those who send Hillary some fun email will do so because their neighborhood Basij thug told them to do it.
After all, she’s already told them that she isn’t going to help them slay their dragon.
And for this we pay millions of dollars?
Waste of money and time. Don’t these idiots know that the internet is heavily blocked in Iran and most people in rural areas don’t even have access to it? Websites won’t do. Anything short of a democratic revolution won’t fix our Iranian problems.
That being said..and true…I also feel that the Obama adm., is part of the Iranian “dragon”…and..they will not lift a finger to slay themselves…:)
… because nothing says “respect American power and influence” to the Middle East like a shrill woman dressed in a pants-suit who repeats platitudes and is obviously w/o a clue (or worse, is afraid to speak the truth) about the nature of the government of Iran and the threat it poses to its people and to the world … I know Afghan chai boys who are more formidable.
Great title … Hillary and BHO approache statecraft like its speed-dating.
You captured the essence of Hillary’s genius.
Sometimes I wonder if the Democratic Party did not adopt the Jerry Springer Show as a role model. Most of the time I don’t.
This is embarrassing.
These are not serious people.
I think back to the “reset button” gift. Leave aside that they used the wrong Russian word, the whole gag was on a junior-high-school level.
There is a childishness here that appalls me.
These are not grown-ups.
I have a friend I went to high school with who lives in Tehran. I try to keep in touch with him via email as much as possible as he is very dear to me. The emails I send him are quite inocuous in nature and generally are about family and other such innocent topics. I make it a point to never talk politics via email as I am sure that should I do so a gang of Basiji goons will decend upon him the very next day like ugly on ape. Many of these emails do not even reach him and those which do arrive at his computer with at least a one week lag. Clearly the emails go through the hands of several government agencies before they are released to the intended receiver. The US administration knows full well that the average Iranian, which are those who comprise the Greens, do not have free access to the internet and they also know full well that the website of the US virtual embassy is blocked in Iran.
Don’t you see? The purpose of this virtual embassy is not to esatblish kumbaya with the Iranian people. It is an attempt to demonstrate to those critics of the US administration (our own good doctor the blogger?) who correctly point out that Obama and co. do not care for the Iranian people that, oh gosh, we really do. Those poor Iranian people. We only want to love and help them with our killer website. It is also a preparation for the presidential debates so that if a Romney or a Gingrich bring up the topic of Iran Mr. Obama can point them directly to the website.
The people of Iran are being killed, mutilated and tortured by a bucnh of psycopathic and bloodthirsty turbaned animals and Mr. President and Madamme Secretary provide assistance by creating a URL. How much more condecending and patronizing can you get? This website should not have a dot gov domain. It belongs in the newly established dot xxx domain.
Just a tiny follow up:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/iran-is-quick-to-shut-us-virtual-embassy/2011/12/07/gIQAI0UGdO_blog.html
do you think we’ll fight the jamming?
Since the whole concept is purely cosmetic I don’t think this government will deploy assets to unblock it. Even if the NSA does unblock it the site will still be useless for two reasons. One, how could possibly the domestic opposition to the IR use the material on the site to futher thier cause? Second, most people within Iran will be scared to visit the site knowing that their IP addresses will be recorded and traced.
not only those points, but I doubt that Ms Hillary has the slightest desire to have anything on the site that would upset the mullahs more than is absolutely necessary.
Here is Newt Gingrich’s Secretary of State’s (dare we dream?) take on IR’s jamming capabilities:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/11/bolton-iranian-jamming-technology-could-be-worse-news-than-downed-drone/
The .xxx domain? That’s gonna leave a mark!
LOL!
What vids can we see on Hillary’s new .xxx website? Hillary with her “body woman”, Huma Abedin? The one with Muslim Brotherhood in her immediate family? I wish I were making this up, but no, I am not.
Or maybe a menage a trois inviting Huma’s husband, the Great Weiner of Twitteworld just to show the subjugated women of Iran as to how far advanced we are in matters of the heart. Ok, maybe not the heart….
Bravo to you for saying it all loud and clear (from an Iranian friend here)!
These are modern Liberals, even of the Obama/Ayers type. At their core, they have to be seen as doing *something* — highly publicised — even if it is incandescently stupid & ineffectual — which the MSM will cover up & ignore.
There is a visa application from a Mr Jannati. Will she approve it. He does not have an “Iranian” passport, as he has a special one from The Mahdi Republic based in Najaf with twin satellite town Qom. lol
ps. There is no such thing as “Iranian Embassy”.
Well, if Obama did not interfere after the 2009 “elections,” when people were literally being gunned down in the streets, I don’t think the Iranians have much to worry about from this administration regarding much of anything. Obama and Clinton still really believe that if you’re just nice enough to the Iranians, they’ll be your pals. What idiots. Nothing in the past three years proved this to be true and it will never be true. The mullahs want to dominate the region and, once they obtain nuclear weapons, want to destroy Israel. This is the truth and this is the reality we as a nation need to deal with. We still have a chance to overthrow the mullahs right now, without the need of any major war or naval blockade. But once the mullahs get their nuclear weapon, all bets are off and the region, much like Obama’s foreign policy (such as it is), will shatter into a million pieces.
Yes, and Ron Paul also, says that, if we’ll just make the simplest of peace overtures with Iran: “. . . . offer them friendship, . . .”, it can be a whole new world of co-operation, . . .
Ron Paul is one the most ignorant foreign policy politicians I have ever known. He sounds so scary that he makes Obama sound like Churchill!!!! His isolationist naive apologetic vies simply do not apply to our modern war games in this dangerous world!
Thank You Mr. Ledeen
Thank you for your candid and unbiased analysis of Ms. Clinton and State Department’s recent and repeated stabbing of Iranian people who have no weapon except sacrificing their lives to prove to the world that they are fed up, with this regime? Where are ears and eyes to hear and see their cries for freedom?
There have been documented evidences of at least 150 Political assassinations throughout the world, not including the massacre of over 6000 political prisoners in Iran by contract killings and/or direct involvement of IRA’s tugs and daily and systematic execution of Iranians and Ms. Secretary is blind and deaf to all of these atrocities, and laughingly and with big smile announces the opening of another door and trap to help Iranian regime to create documents for Mullah’s kangaroo courts for hanging of future American Spies (!) because they have sent Love Letters to Secretary of State Ms. Hillary Clinton!
When this Administration will wise up?
Regards
Kurosh Kalhor
This approach sounds like the solution a 5th grade classroom would settle on.
Right out of the brilliant world of elementary academia.
My guess is , the Iranians will make popcorn and watch it Saturday night.
I’m sure you’ve read the same fictional story I have: Boy in kindergarten is being bullied by bigger stronger child. Bully keeps pushing little boy around, taking his milk money, and generally doing what bullies do. One day little boy shares his candy bar with the bully which causes bully to have a life-changing event and the two are now suddenly friends. And the live happily ever after.
Obviously writen by a liberal.
Unfortunately, we have a President who seems to think that this is the way the world works. He thinks that if he is just nice enough to the bullies they will become our friends. And if they are still not are friends then that just means we haven’t been nice enough yet.
True story: two young girls, best friends, bullied incessantly by group of 5 older and bigger boys because one of the girls is “different” (Asian) and the other dares stick up for her best friend. Tried being nice, tried talking, tried ignoring, tried staying away from them. Bullying got worse and worse, escalated to physical abuse by boys. One morning, one girl snapped, hauled off, punched biggest boy in the stomach as hard as she could. Voila! Three years of bullying stopped in that instant and the girls lived happily ever after
The end.
This was my life and no fictional story. Being seen as weak or defenseless seems to invite the bullies of the world, be it at the bus stop or on the world stage. At least that was the lesson I learned back when I was 12. IMHO.
one of our sons–a Marine officer–complained to me that he had not been bullied in school and so had to learn all this later in life…which he did. At Quantico. Best school of etiquette in America.
“Hi There, Iranians! I’m Hillary, Let’s Chat.” And, isn’t an enforced or otherwise arbitrary implementation of class structure, a large part of what the Left is given to? And if so, by definition, Hillary (or, say, Newt) must find but small opportunity to avoid fellowship and cooperation with any like-minded force
Adversity brings out the best in us, shows us strengths we don’t even realize we have. As the old saying goes: that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! lol! You must be very proud of your son, Mr. Ledeen. God bless him for his service to this country.
As long as circular logic is used by capitals, what they deem as “doing good and being seen to do good”, winds up metastazing and makes the situation worse.
When this is accepted by those who reject it, will be roughly the time when they
expertly herd cats.
That’s really nice of the State Department to have “designated numerous Iranian officials and organizations for their responsibility in the serious human rights abuses carried out after the disputed 2009 elections.”
Shades of “Team America: World Police.” Maybe they’re going to have Hans Blix write Shah Ali and friends a very strong letter.
Sounds like Hillary’s thinking of a run. If Holder can run the DOJ like the NAACP why can’t Hillary wear the pants in her dept.? She’ll sabotage Obama before the Iran nuke program unless she bombs Iran on her orders and tells Obama she thought it’d be okay.
This is endemic throughout the Middle East, what little respect we gained from George Bush’s “cowboyism” we have totally lost to the point that Iran is emboldened enough to plan bombings on American soil. Even prior to Obama Iran felt confident they could get away with killing our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reagan was the last President they feared.
I really doubt the Sentinel was transmitting Voice of America to the locals when it crashed. Obviously, there is a covert struggle going on that has already destroyed two missile facilities. And these were not accomplished by air power.
Perhaps Obama is borrowing from Teddy Roosevelt. Talk softly but carry a big stick. I don’t know what exactly the strategy is, but I rather doubt the Iranian people are going to revolt anytime soon, but they likely assisted the destruction that has already killed the head of the Iranian ballistic missile program.
What do your spooks say?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70033.html
And this is the alternative. Doesn’t sound very peaceful, though undoubtedly what is emerging as the final option.
“we and the Brits supported millions of Iranians calling for the return of the shah…” “millions of Iranians”????!!!! Is that you Dr. Ledeen saying that, or you are just trying to make it sounds funny and exaggerated?
At best there were few thousands of thugs that caused such a disaster for Iran and the whole world for years to come. No, there were NEVER “millions” of Iranians supporting the coup by CIA. Brits scared U.S. of communists in Iran. All made up by Brits so U.S. does their dirty work for Iran nationalizing their oil. And at that time U.S. knew nothing of that area, and they made sure they told this to Brits day and night. No more.
Actually, I’ve read the recently declassified documents in the National Archives, which you have not (or you would not trot out the old nonsense about “the coup by CIA.”
The maternal grandfather of a good friend of mine was in the diplomatic corps of the Soviet Union. His last posting was as the #2 man in the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa when a guy from Stavropol came to visit, and later on said things about Perestroika and Glasnost.
One thing, amongst many things. Alexei mentioned was Mossadegh (sp?) was a client of the Kremlin.
If “Mosaddegh was a client of the Kremlin”, the powerful and well-organized Tudeh Party (the Iranian Communist party) which betrayed Mosaddegh at the last moment and did nothing to save him must have been a CIA client! You guys are really nuts.
Thanks for verifying that “MILLIONS” of people were in favor of the coup and against the popularly elected Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran!!!
It might be blasphemy to question the “credibility” and “reliability” of now-released secret documents seen at National Archive, but simply looking at this Wikipedia Iran’s population between 1945 to 1955, Iran barely had 20 million people, which include infants and people under the age of 16 to know anything about politics. Here is the link to Iran population growth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iran_Population_%281880-2005%29.JPG
I hope God forgives me to call them baseless “SECRET” files of National Archives.
Did you find similar high population number for all those Latin American countries that had military coups? Or it was just in Iran? How about Chile?
there were also millions in favor of Mossadeqh. my mother used to say that when you’re in a hole you should stop digging…you might consider that good advice, AR.
Dr. Ledeen, as a Jewish man, you have NOT listen to your mother at all with all these dust in your digging.
Mr. Alireza, NO matter how is the extent of your hatred for Dr. Ledeen or your contempt for his Great efforts in the service of Freedom, but ultimately HE will brings the sunrise of Freedom into the lives of millions of oppressed Iranians by you and your masters of Mullahs. Eventually Freedom will prevail willy-nilly, because Freedom is the non-negotiable demand of human dignity, and it is the BIRTHRIGHT of every one in every civilization on the face of the earth.
Mr. Alireza, the only acceptable end is the governments of the people are much better than your tyrannical leaders, while the shameful end of you and your Masters in Tehran will be in the HOLES OR BEING HANGING in the streets by your own people….yes, the same end of the Saddam, Gaddafi, and soon your right arm in Arab world “Bashar Al-Assad and Hassan Nasrallah”. This is your inevitable destiny, there is NO ESCAPE from that, Mr. Alireza!!!???
As you know, the Great Dr. Michael Ledeen is one of the Great Americans who have supported the peaceful freedom revolutions in Eastern Europe “Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania…etc. So just ask the comrade Gorbachev, and the free people in these countries.
Syrian dissident – Poland
Do you think that nationalizing the oil industry was a good thing for Iran? Can’t you see that all the ensuing corruption for the next six decades, including the present time, and the Islamic revolution, can be directly traced to the creation of the NIOC? Do you believe that it is a good thing for the government to own the single source of income of the nation and use it as their personal piggy bank, be they Pahlavis or Ayatollahs, rather than relying on taxes paid by the population hence never feeling answerable to its own people because they are not needed as a source of revenue? By this act Dr. Mossadeq is the father of all the misfortune that has befallen the beautiful Iranian people. He is the genesis of Ruhollah Khomeini. And the Shah, enjoying the revenues from this nice stream of cash did not feel the urge to privatize the Iranian oil industry. Shame on him.
Great title…thank you for your great loyalty and honesty for FREEDOM. indeed you are a Great man. Your great struggle for FREEDOM MUST NOT NEGLECT BY HISTORY!!
“the US virtual embassy” it’s very ridiculous idea, is the most stupid idea ever by a government of Superpower . Very obviously, almost all emails from the USA and other western countries are under the control of tyrannical regimes…unless this administration would employ it for a policy behind-the-scenes “Mrs Clinton’s chat of policy of appeasement and humiliation”.
Michael, this absurd idea must be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records in the name of Mr. Obama’s administration.
Superpower MUST BE imperious, ruthless and relentless NOT to conduct behind such futile policies. Mr Obama needs to read about Machiavelli ideas and about Mussolini and others of this Great sort….Yes, it waste of time. The Great USA needs a true men, a men of courageous, needs the Hardline Policies and Hawkish decisions…needs you Michael. I really wonder, How do you fear from the close ally to Iranians and Syrians “Russian State”, while you who were tore apart the Great Soviet Union!
I still say the Executive Branch’s top priority for the last 30 years is to maintain the dictators, that parade as religious, in Iran in power at all cost…You seem still in de-nile….I just view actions, you appear deceived by refusing to face the facts….
I mean no disrespect…we just disagree….and raising invalid objections and pretending I said stuff I never said is curious, almost;
I appreciate the informative views he expressed on this blog, and I will miss him from the Euroblogosphere.
For me he was part of the family of eurobloggers, and although this was just one part of what he was and what he did, I will remember him as one of the founders of the growing euroblogosphere – and I hope others will do so, too.