More Protests in the Streets of Iran
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This weekend's deadly violence may have reduced the size of demonstrations on the streets of Tehran, but significant numbers did turn out today to face tear gas and police batons. We hear the latest and assess international relations in the Middle East and the West, including the US. Also, airstrikes have killed so many civilians in Afghanistan they're now banned except when US forces are about to be overrun.
Banner image: A supporter of Iranian Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holds pictured depicting injured protesters of Tehran during a protest against the election results in Iran on June 21, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Main Topic
Protests Smaller but Still Alive in Iran ()
It appears that at least 20 demonstrators were killed Saturday on the streets of Iran in clashes with police and militias in civilian clothes. After a quieter Sunday, protesters in Tehran faced police and militia again today. Their numbers were much reduced, but there's no doubt that dissention runs deep and wide, including a split among clerics in Iran's ruling elite. We update today's developments, assess the strength of the regime, and find out how other countries are responding. Should President Obama give the protesters solid US support, or would that threaten their legitimacy and even endanger their lives?
Guests:
- Robin Wright: Staff Writer, Washington Post
- Rami Khouri: Director of the Issam Fares Institute, American University of Beirut
- Gershom Gorenberg: Jerusalem-based historian and journalist
- Borzou Daragahi: Middle East Correspondent, Los Angeles Times
- Michael Rubin: Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
- Martin Fletcher: Reporter, The Times of London
Links:
- Obama on Iran
- Bipartisan Policy Center's (2008) report on US policy toward Iranian nuclear development
- Lindsey Graham (R-SC) talks about Iran on 'This Week'
- John McCain (R-AZ) talks about Iran on 'Face the Nation'
- Fletcher's article on British academics' analysis of vote-rigging
- Daragahi's article on Neda Agha-Soltan
- Rubin's 'Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos'
Reporter's Notebook
US Pulls Back on the Use of Air Strikes in Afghanistan ()
The US has used airstrikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan, but the cost may be higher than any benefit received in combat. General Stanley McChrystal said last week that "air power contains the seeds of our own destruction if we do not use it responsibly," adding, "we can lose this fight." So he's placed new restrictions on the kind of airstrikes that have killed many civilians. Nancy Youssef, chief Pentagon correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Guests:
- Nancy Youssef: Pentagon Correspondent, McClatchy News Service
Links:
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