December 31, 2005

Laura Secor understood Iran

Having finally finished Laura Secor's wonderful piece in the New Yorker about Iran and the future of reform last night,

I have to say, it was one the deepest and most insightful pieces by an American, I've ever read. She's really grasped the bigger picture and has done a great job in conveying it to her readers. This is where Western journalists usually fail. They provide great personal stories, but they don't go much beyond cliches, when it comes to bigger picture. (Read more by her)

tehran03 057

The funny thing is that the piece starts with the Moin supporters gathering in a Tehran University stadium, under a tent for journalists. This was exactly where I was sitting too. (See more pictures) What an amazing time I had in Tehran those days. Although it was all shattered by the rise Ahmadinejad.

Posted by hoder at December 31, 2005 12:03 PM

Comments
Laura's article was not particulary insightful. It was a repeat of the standard cliche lament of 'Ahmadinejad's election means the death of prospects for reforms in Iran' This is a common misperception of two types of people. Those who assumed that Reforms means Fall of the Regime, and Those who continue to reduce Iranian politics into Good Guys versus Bad Guys. Ahmadinejad is also hardly an evil alien to Iranians.
- By: Me on December 31, 2005
---------
Post a comment
bold (ctrl-shft-B)italics (ctrl-shft-T)link (ctrl-shft-A)
Name*:   
Email*:
URL:


Note:
* Required
The following HTML tags are allowed in your comments: <a> <b> <i>. To make line and paragraph breaks, press return (don't use <br> or <p>).
The bold, italics, and link buttons (and associated shortcut keys) only work in IE 5+ on the PC.