[freedom44]

I respect your opinion. But I have visited Iran and conversed with a wide spectrum of society who are Muslim. I have also lived in Italy and conversed with a wide spectrum of society who are Christian. Iranians are more pro-American. They value our freedom, values and culture much more than Italians and probably most European Christian countries.

[NormsRevenge]

I may have been abit abrupt in my inital comments.

I have no doubt that a vast majority of Iranians at home and abroad are reasonable and respectful people.

It is not their fault that a tyrannical clique of sub-humans, masquerading as being religious in nature, has seized and retains power today, altho those who seek freedom, must be prepared to fight to keep or regain it.

At the same time, I do not see evidence that this let’s talk comment is anything more than another balloon which, while welcome in the sky, will likely deliver anything more than more hot air.

I hope I am wrong, for everyone’s sake.

[Romneyfor President2008]

Iran actually does have a lot of non-Muslim communities, and some of them are hidden away in the countryside. They can’t rebel or else they get killed. Unfortunately for them, they have no oil so we don’t give a shiite.

[odds]

This Ayatollah Montazari is not a dissident.

Boroujerdi is a dissident who never had anything to do with IR, and wants state and religion separated.

Montazari is a reformist and personally I have no time for people like him who are suddenly & falsely labelled as “dissidents”. Does he want a regime change in Iran or does he want a kinder version of the current theocracy? Similar to other reformists, he wants his cake and eat it too i.e. keep the Mullah regime in Iran but be nicer and more “democratic”.

[ “Montazeri said Iranian authorities were mistaken if they believed “an attack would rally Iranians to the leadership as they did during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war”. ]

I believe in the above quote. The mullahs and their immediate cohorts, in particular, will be the first to run and some will jump ship should there be an attack by the U.S.

[G8 Diplomat]

Iranians are more pro-American. They value our freedom, values and culture much more than Italians and probably most European Christian countries

I can believe that. Iranians are oppressed by Ahmanutjob and his tyrannical regime, and they don't like it and would rather have freedoms like ours in the US. Italians, however, and many western European countries, have either never known oppression (or never completely learned from it, i.e. Hitler and Mussolini, and would rather experiment w/socialism and mock the Americans instead of thanking us for saving their asses) and are often smug elitists who hate the US. My sister has a friend who is an Iranian, and also one who is Pakistani, and they're both very nice people.