Iran. What gives?

Okay, so I doubt many of you have been as fascinated as I have with the whole Iranian mess. And over the past few days, I've spent an inordinate amount of time watching the various 24/7 news channels to keep up to date on what is going on.

I mean, to ME, it's kind of like having video feed of the Founding Fathers at Faneuil Hall in Boston as the rhetoric against King George started to heat up back in the 1770's. Brilliant stuff. I mean, to watch a people rise up against tyranny is just, well, exciting. Particularly a regime as oppressive as the Iranian Mullah-tocracy (and before any of my liberal friends feel the need, I know that's not technically a legitimate term, but You KNOW what I mean.).

To catalogue what has been going on of late for those of you not watching, the Iranians had an election last week. Hardliner Ahmadinejad was being challenged by a more progressive candidate that has been receiving significant support from pro-democracy students and young adults. I mean, how long can you keep a people living in the 13th century before they wake up one morning and say "Wait a minute. We are the world's 6th largest producer of oil. Oil is particularly valuable today. Prices are going up and we are not really SEEING any of it. And if we DID? All the bling we would buy for our ladies is going to be hidden beneath those bhurkas! WTF?"

Okay, so maybe just three or four weeks ago these people were marching in the streets screaming "Death to America" or "Death to the Great Satan" (for those of you just tuning in, "WE," The US of A are the Great Satan to them)...but now? Now they are shouting "Death to the Dictator!" (I am 90% sure they mean Ahmadinejad here, but they could be referring to the Ayatollah Khomeni who is the spiritual head of the country...You've seen him, looks like one of the ZZTop guys in a turban....lots of black robes.

So here is my 'what gives' question: WHERE ARE THE TANKS? Where is the iconic photograph of the lone protestor standing in front of a T-72 like in Tienanmen Square? They've got the tanks. Ask Iraq about their tanks. Though, in an interesting piece of historical military news, they STILL list in their arsenal of armored fighting vehicles M-47/48's and M-60's. We got rid of those tanks in the 70's and 80's. But regardless, a tank is a tank to a civilian with a protest sign. And tanks, even old ones, have guns. Lots of them: machine guns, main guns (the big nasty tank killing/building destroying main guns).

So where IS the Iranian military? They've sent their Basij militia. These guys are the modern equivalent of the Nazi parties early members: The Brown Shirts as they are more commonly known, or the SA or Sturmabteilung. These Iranian Basiji (the plural of Basij) are literally street thugs who you can see riding on motorcycles and swinging clubs at the protestors. I actually saw some really nice footage of one of them that had been taken down by some of the protestors and they were kicking the crap out of him! And in the last resort of a true scoundrel, he looked TERRIFIED and seemed to be pleading with the protestors. They ignored his pleas and literally, beat the tar out of the guy. Of course, I cannot say I actually SAW tar coming out of him, but if God put it in him, I am sure those protestors helped get it out of him.

See, Ahmadinejad was, at one time, a commander of those street thugs. So it makes sense that they would mobilize to defend one of their own. But WHERE are the tanks? Why have they not rolled out the heavy armor and just bulldozed the protestors?

I have a theory (as I am SURE anyone who knows me would expect! :) See, just like back in 1993, when the Soviets REALLY collapsed, the Soviet Army sent troops to the Soviet White House. One of the soldiers was quoted back then as refusing an order to fire on the protestors by saying "What? And shoot my Grandmother?"

I think this may well be what is going on in Tehran. The army commanders are saying "No thanks." Either that or The Ayatollah doesn't want another Tienanmen Square moment. And what do we do? Well, more accurately, what does our President do? Nothing. He reminds the Mullahs in Iran that the 'international community is watching.' Whoa. Scary. How about just coming straight out and saying "Iran, STOP this horseshit."?

Maybe that's too blunt for Obama and his teleprompter. I wonder what the teleprompter would say?