Clinton: "Iran is turning into a military dictatorship"

Actually, Iran already was a military dictatorship and has been one almost since the beginning of Khomeini rule. Anyone who read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and followed the history of repression in Iran can see all the tell-tale symptoms: arbitrary arrests for dissent, direction of policy by the Iranian National Guard Corps, mass executions. The only difference is that of late, the even more militant Basij have achieved more power.

 

Iran has a democratic facade of "elections" that should not have fooled anyone. Apparently, it has fooled people in the US State Department for quite a long time.

 

Ami Isseroff  

      
Clinton: Iran is turning into military dictatorship
By Amos Harel and Haaretz Service
 

 

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the Obama administration believes Iran is becoming a military dictatorship.

 

In remarks to Arab students at Carnegie Mellon's campus in Qatar, Clinton said the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran appears to have gained so much power, saying "the Revolutionary Guard ... we believe is, in effect, supplanting the government of Iran."

 

"That is how we see it. We see that the government of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the parliament, is being supplanted and that Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship. That is our view."
 
Clinton's comments came after it was announced earlier Monday that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will be arriving in Israel within weeks on an official visit, amid growing regional tensions over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

 

Referring to U.S.-led effort to force new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, Biden told Meet the Press on Sunday that he hoped to recruit China's support to the campaign.

 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will be arriving in Israel within weeks on an official visit, Haaretz learned on Monday, amid growing regional tensions over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

 

Referring to U.S.-led effort to force new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, Biden told Meet the Press on Sunday that he hoped to recruit China's support to the campaign.

 

"We already have the support of everyone from Russia to Europe, and I believe we could also garner China's support so to isolate [Iran]," Biden said, adding that the world had "to make it clear to them that we can't go on like this."

 

On Sunday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen appeared keen to relay a public message to Israel: The U.S. is leading the international effort to levy harsh sanctions on Tehran, so Israel must exercise complete restraint.

 

Mullen told reporters he was concerned about the unintended consequences of a military strike on Iran's nuclear program.

 

The U.S. army chief said after arriving in Israel on Sunday that American policy on the matter is clear: "Iran must not acquire nuclear capability."

 

However, Mullen also said that if a regional confrontation were to break out following a strike on Iran, it "will be a big, big, big problem for all of us, and I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike."

 

In a fairly unusual step, Mullen held a short press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. He then met with the Israel's military leadership, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.

 

In June 2008, when Mullen was last here, circumstances were similar: Then-president George Bush and his administration also interpreted Israeli statements as meaning that the country intended to attack Iran. Mullen was dispatched by the Bush administration in order to clarify that Israel cannot do this.

 

Mullen was asked Sunday about the red lines the Obama administration set for Iran's nuclear program. He refused to offer a detailed response, but said, "President Barack Obama was very clear that from a policy standpoint, Iran cannot have nuclear weapons."

 

He added that he still hoped a solution could be found through diplomacy and sanctions, and that there would not be a regional war.

 

"We haven't taken off any option from the table," he said. While the military option had not been discounted, "it's pretty hard to be specific."

 

He reiterated the assessment that unless Iran's nuclear program was halted, Tehran could have its first nuclear bomb within one to three years.

 

Mullen expressed concern at the behavior of the Iranian leadership and said it had a destabilizing influence on the region. He cited as cause for concern Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent statement that Iran could step up uranium enrichment, and added that the country was linked to Hezbollah, Hamas and the instability in Yemen, and played a role in Afghanistan.

 

Stressing America was committed to Israel's security, he commended the countries' close defense and security ties, and their stabilizing effect on the region.

 

The admiral also noted that the U.S. has taken steps to protect several countries in the region from Iranian threats, and mentioned that Patriot air defense missiles had been deployed in the United Arab Emirates. Mullen added that all measures are defensive.

 

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Qatar that Iran is leaving the international community little choice but to exact a heavy price from Tehran over its provocative actions.