Iran Takes a Step Forward, America Takes a Step Back

The Iranian election dominated this week's news, with large numbers of student and youth demonstrators refusing to accept the rigged election results. While the outcome of the current Iranian crisis will have a limited impact outside Iran in the short term, it may have a far larger one in the long run. While the protests began as something more akin to the Venezuelan protests over Chavez's media hijacking last year, they have already passed the point of Tienanmen Square. And while we are not quite at the Tehran version of the Berlin Wall, whether or not they get there will depend on the actions of the Iranian regime.