Thursday
Nov122009
Iran: "Regime Change" Conference in Cleveland, Ohio!
Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 8:52
The Latest from Iran (12 November): Lull
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So you want to know where the "velvet revolution" is being planned? Look no farther than the secret plots being openly discussed at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
That's the headline "exclusive" in Iranian state media this morning, as the Islamic Republic News Agency declares that various academics, activists, Jews, and troublemakers assembled this week for a conference on "Baha'i Unity".
I'm still not sure how discussions of a minority religious group, often pressured and prosecuted by Iranian authorities, adds up to an imminent threat of regime change, but the article presses on with a description of each of the speakers. Amongst the speakers are Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Barry Rubin of the Gloria Center in Herzliya, "occupied Palestine", Rabbi Eric Lankin of the Jewish National Fund, and Elihu Richter of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
For IRNA, however, the tip-off that this is a serious attempt at destabilisation comes in the presence of Jackie Wolcott, the State Department's Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation and her speech, "Iran and nuclear weapons proliferation". (Again, I personally would not design a velvet revolution by openly featuring a US Government official, but hey, I'm just a naive bystander.)
So was this really the nexus of the plot to topple the Iranian regime? The conference's description of itself is not so dramatic with the far-from-exciting title, "The Islamic Republic of Iran: Multidisciplinary Analyses of its Theocracy, Nationalism, and Assertion of Power". Case Western University's public relations unit, trying to drum up attendance, adds a bit of spice, "Issues surrounding Iran have made headlines, and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East will discuss concerns about the developments of nuclear proliferation and other events in Iran when they meet in Cleveland for their two-day conference." I'm not sure, however, that this makes the cut as a Declaration of the Overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
Some of the speakers at the conference are far from objective observers of Iran, and a couple are notable for Iran-bashing as part of pro-Israel activism. Yet, let's be clear, IRNA's primary targets are "reformist journalists" listed on the conference programme. Even thousands of miles away, in the Midwest of the United States, you can't be too complacent about the Green Wave.
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
So you want to know where the "velvet revolution" is being planned? Look no farther than the secret plots being openly discussed at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.That's the headline "exclusive" in Iranian state media this morning, as the Islamic Republic News Agency declares that various academics, activists, Jews, and troublemakers assembled this week for a conference on "Baha'i Unity".
I'm still not sure how discussions of a minority religious group, often pressured and prosecuted by Iranian authorities, adds up to an imminent threat of regime change, but the article presses on with a description of each of the speakers. Amongst the speakers are Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Barry Rubin of the Gloria Center in Herzliya, "occupied Palestine", Rabbi Eric Lankin of the Jewish National Fund, and Elihu Richter of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
For IRNA, however, the tip-off that this is a serious attempt at destabilisation comes in the presence of Jackie Wolcott, the State Department's Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation and her speech, "Iran and nuclear weapons proliferation". (Again, I personally would not design a velvet revolution by openly featuring a US Government official, but hey, I'm just a naive bystander.)
So was this really the nexus of the plot to topple the Iranian regime? The conference's description of itself is not so dramatic with the far-from-exciting title, "The Islamic Republic of Iran: Multidisciplinary Analyses of its Theocracy, Nationalism, and Assertion of Power". Case Western University's public relations unit, trying to drum up attendance, adds a bit of spice, "Issues surrounding Iran have made headlines, and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East will discuss concerns about the developments of nuclear proliferation and other events in Iran when they meet in Cleveland for their two-day conference." I'm not sure, however, that this makes the cut as a Declaration of the Overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
Some of the speakers at the conference are far from objective observers of Iran, and a couple are notable for Iran-bashing as part of pro-Israel activism. Yet, let's be clear, IRNA's primary targets are "reformist journalists" listed on the conference programme. Even thousands of miles away, in the Midwest of the United States, you can't be too complacent about the Green Wave.