Posted on 06/18/2009 4:09:07 PM PDT by lewisglad
Arab states are watching intently as Iran's political convulsions continue, seeking clues to how the unfolding crisis will affect the strategic picture in the Middle East, especially the key issue of the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.
In a region where democratic politics are the exception, there is nervousness about the implications of people power on the streets of Tehran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is deeply unpopular – but mass protests worry all autocrats.
Recently emerging from their own political upheavals, savvy Lebanese see much of themselves in the people politics unfolding in Tehran.
"It reminds me of our protests," said Haitham Chamas, an activist who helped organise protests in 2005 that brought a million Lebanese on to the streets calling for democratic reforms and the fall of the government.
Just as in Tehran, that opposition was swiftly answered by a huge rally in support of the incumbent regime, organised then by Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran and Syria.
Chamas and friends have spent the last week talking of little else but what the historic events unfolding in Iran could mean for Lebanon, where Iranian financing of Hezbollah has divided opinion like never before. The western-backed government, known as March 14, recently beat Hezbollah and its allies in undisputed elections.
"I think if Mousavi's supporters stay on the streets for a week the regime will fall and that will seriously affect Hezbollah," said Chamas.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
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