Iranian election reax: Violence, bloodshed, suppression, allegations of fraud

Yesterday, Iran’s state-run media declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the much-talked about Iranian presidential election against so-called “pro-westerner” and former Iranian prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi, and as a result of that declaration chaos, violence, bloodshed, and allegations of voter fraud have taken center stage.

Micheal J. Totten writes that “Iran is on fire” with protesters taking to the streets in belief that the election there was rigged, while government forces are suppressing them – in some cases, violently. As to the allegations of voter fraud, polling guru Nate Silver says he’s not seeing much validity to them – not as of yet, anyway. CNN’s being slammed by Twitterville over their lack of presence post-election in Iran. Ahmeanie’s rival has reportedly been arrested.

The WH is skeptical of the announced results and is “monitoring” the situation carefully. No doubt they were hopeful for a defeat of Iran’s president because his rival has expressed a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue with the west, and promised more freedom for the people of Iran. Whether he was actually sincere in his claims is up for debate, considering his controversial history in Iran (more here and here).

To stay informed on the latest developments, keep checking Memeorandum as bloggers, pundits, experts, and analysts alike are keeping track of the goings on in Iran as they happen, in spite of Iran’s clamping down on all types of electronic communication. The “Tehran Bureau” blog is still a must-read as well – they are reporting unconfirmed numbers of up to 100 dead from post-election rioting. Just keep scrolling.

dave christensen says:

June 14, 2009 at 1:58 pm

I had a robust breakfast this morning while watching the robust debate taking place in Iran. King Obama spent his Sunday morning listening to a robust description of dem Jews and dem Zionists from an old CD of Jeremiah Wright. If we get much more of this “robustness”, we’ll have our own little tinhorn dictator as president for life.

Lorica says:

June 15, 2009 at 10:17 am

Don’t worry people, Jimmy Carter’s friends are still in power, and he has spoken, so everything must be just as it was suppose to be. – Lorica

Carlos says:

June 15, 2009 at 6:18 pm

Well, except for the “violence, bloodshed, suppression” part, sounds pretty much like what happens here every time a Republican is elected. But now that His Hollowness is in power, give it one more cycle, I’m sure we’ll get to those now, too.

JAT says:

June 16, 2009 at 7:38 am

Interesting that there are claims circulating out of Iran that the shooters were Lebanese Shia imported by the Revolutionary Guard. Could be.

Or this could be a natural attempt by everyone involved to distance themselves from the violence. Worth watching to see if facts emerge.