Over the last week, the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been the subject of a relentless attack by the various arms of the U.S. ruling class. The Bush administration and its officials, candidates of the two capitalist class political parties, the media and even academia have all taken part in a campaign in the propaganda frenzy against the Iranian leader.
In anticipation of his scheduled U.S. visit to address the U.N. General Assembly, CBS aired an interview with
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But when interviewing the head of a state that is in the crosshairs of imperialism, all the customary courtesies are thrown out the window.
In his interview with Ahmadinejad, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley did more than ask tough questions. He repeated the Bush administration’s baseless accusations against Iran as fact: “It is an established fact now that Iranian bombs and Iranian know-how are killing Americans in Iraq. You have American blood on your hands.” Pelley was so hostile that Ahmadinejad had to remind the reporter: “This is not Guantanamo Bay. This is not a Baghdad prison. Please, this is not a secret prison in Europe. This is not Abu Ghraib,” “This is Iran. I’m the president of this country!”
After arriving in New York, Ahmadinejad spoke at a Sept. 27 public meeting at the invitation of Columbia University. Zionist and other right-wing forces held demonstrations at Columbia denouncing Ahmadinejad as the “New Hitler.” The president of Columbia, Lee Bollinger, introduced the Iranian president with a series of insults, calling him a “cruel and petty dictator.”
This was a clear example of how the political line of the ruling class exerts itself over academia, debunking the myth of academic independence. Bollinger does not normally deem it necessary to subject invitees of the university to “tough” questions, particularly when right-wing, racist speakers such as Minuteman leader Jim Gilchrist speak at Columbia.
Throughout Ahmadinejad’s U.S. visit, the “free and independent” media did their best to contribute to the demonization campaign. The media gave abundant coverage to protests, charges and insults against Ahmadinejad, but what Ahmadinejad actually said in his talks was barely covered.
No loyalty to Washington
When the Shah of Iran—a real “cruel and petty dictator” with a bloody history of ruthless repression—visited the United States in November 1977, corporate media outlets and universities were not up in arms about his dictatorial practices. By and large, they echoed President Jimmy Carter’s praise for the shah as a great, modern leader. But then, the shah was Washington’s man, installed in a 1953 CIA coup, and Iran after the 1979 revolution has steadfastly resisted imperialism.
When Washington targets a country that asserts its independence against the U.S. political, economic and military might, a demonization campaign of its leaders is launched. Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic and Kim Jong Ill are recent examples in a long list of demonized leaders.
Ahmadinejad won the 2005 elections that went two rounds. Over 70 percent of eligible voters participated in the elections, far more than U.S. presidential elections. Ahmadinejad replaced another president, Mohammad Khatami, who was ineligible to run after two terms in office.
In bourgeois elections in Iran, as in the United States, candidates have to make it through systemic ruling-class filters in shaping the range of choices given to the electorate. But election campaigns in Iran have been far livelier, and a lot less predictable, than U.S. bourgeois elections.
Iran’s constitution spreads political power among several bodies—the supreme leader, the president, the Majlis (parliament), the Assembly of Experts, the Council of Guardians and the Council of Expediency. All of these bodies are elected through direct popular vote except for the supreme leader, who is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, itself an elected body.
So, the myth that Ahmadinejad is a “dictator” has no basis in reality. This accusation is all the more outrageous considering that U.S. puppets such as Pakistan’s military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, or the Saudi royal family, are rarely called dictators.
By any objective measures, Iran’s political process is infinitely more democratic than those of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and many other Washington client states.
Iran is a capitalist state run by and for the ruling capitalist class. Real democracy, workers’ democracy, is not possible under the capitalist system. This is true in Iran as it is in the United States.
But, unlike the United States, Iran is not an imperialist country with global hegemonic aims. Its main goal is to develop independently of imperialism’s chains.
To the U.S. government and corporate media, “democracy” is a measure of loyalty to Washington.
Behind the demonization campaign
Another propaganda myth against Ahmadinejad is that he favors the ethnic cleansing of Jewish people. This myth was launched in 2005 when Ahmadinejad predicted that the “Zionist entity will be wiped off the pages of history.” Ahmadinejad’s prediction of the downfall of the state of Israel was mistranslated as “Israel should be wiped off the map.” This mistranslation was then propagated as evidence of Iran’s intention to use nuclear weapons to annihilate Israel.
Early this year, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s former prime minister and head of the hard-right Likud Party, said: “It’s 1938 and Iran is Germany. And Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs.” Referring to Ahmadinejad, Netanyahu said: “He is preparing another Holocaust for the Jewish state.” This has been the common US-Israeli propaganda line, as exhibited throughout Ahmadinejad’s U.S. visit.
The fact is that Iran has a population of approximately 25,000 Jewish people, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel. Jews in Iran have an elected representative in parliament. They practice the Jewish faith freely. There are 30 synagogues in Tehran alone. In fact, Ahmadinejad’s office recently made a charitable donation to a Jewish hospital in Tehran.
The Iranian revolution of 1979 was not led by the most revolutionary forces in society. The U.S. client regime under the shah had crushed the left through a ruthless campaign of terror that took thousands of lives. The revolution was led by bourgeois-nationalist Islamic forces.
While keeping Iran closed to imperialist plunder—hence materially benefiting the people of Iran, including the working class—the government of the Islamic Republic has reactionary views on social issues such as women’s rights and gay rights.
But Ahmadinejad is not demonized by the U.S. ruling class because of his reactionary social views. He is demonized because of Iran’s standing up to imperialism for its independence. He is demonized because of Iran’s support for Palestinians against the settler state of Israel. He is demonized because of Iran’s support for anti-imperialist forces such as Hamas and Hezbollah. He is demonized because of Iran’s friendly relations with socialist Cuba and revolutionary Venezuela.
The demonization of Ahmadinejad and Iran is a public relations campaign aimed at further U.S. aggression against Iran, including the possibility of a military attack.
For that reason, revolutionary forces in the United States should expose the demonization campaign, debunk the myths, and defend Iran against imperialist aggression.
