Thugs in Iran

Richard Fernandez at the Belmont Club blog chronicles the despicable behavior of the Iranian Basij militia and, by moral extension, the so-called Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Quoting the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Fernandez writes:

Female protesters on the streets of the Iranian capital Tehran are living in fear of being singled out for attack by members of the country’s Basij militia, the ABC has been told. …

“The main scary thing is the Basij. They are militants who are given batons and chains by the government,” said the source, a 27-year-old engineer who wants to be known as Leyla.

“They attack and beat the people, without any notice, and they attack the women.

“The Basij are more scary than the army. They have no uniform and just wear normal clothes. So it’s hard to tell who are the Basij and who are the protesters. That’s why they are more dangerous.”

It turns out that Basij not only like to beat up women, but old ladies. Amnesty International has denounced the Basij and called on the Iranian government to instruct the militia to moderate their brutality.

Americans have always stood for the right of self determination.

The people of Iran deserve leaders who reflect their own standards, morals and beliefs. Ali Khamenei falls short. He is not as moral as the people demonstrating in the streets.

He is the boss-of-thugs, the moral equivalent of the imported Arabs wielding batons to beat unarmed women and children. His empowering of the Basij and their atrocities puts the blood of the injured and dead on his hands.

He deserves to be driven from his position as Supreme Leader by the people of Iran. May God have mercy on his soul.