Listening to Iran's dissidents

Bret Stephens wonders if President Obama's deep concern for civil rights will extend to paying some attention to the Iranians lying in prisons because they dared to march in a parade or blog about the government.

Barack Obama extended the olive branch to Iran's leaders last Friday in a videotaped message praising a "great civilization" for "accomplishments" that "have earned the respect of the United States and the world." The death of Iranian blogger Omid-Reza Mirsayafi in Tehran's Evin prison two days earlier was, presumably, not among the accomplishments the president had in mind.

....Whether Mirsayafi's death cows or emboldens Iran's dissident bloggers remains to be seen. Not the least of their considerations will be the attitude of Mr. Obama, who in his videotaped address went out of his way to speak of "the Islamic Republic of Iran," thereby giving the mullahs claim to a nation, and a civilization, they have done so much to oppress and degrade. Yes, an American president must look first, second and third to American interests. But a presidency predicated on the view that our values are our strength should not forsake those values for diplomatic expediency, much less betray our friends abroad who live, and have died, by those values.

Shortly after Mr. Obama's inauguration, Mr. Sanjari put his name to an open letter to the new president, signed by several prominent young Iranian dissidents, calling on him "to pay special attention to the repressive, unaccountable nature of the regime" that now threatens and provokes the U.S. and our allies. Its conclusion is as fitting a tribute as any to Mirsayafi's notable and too-brief life:

"Mr. President, you marked your first day in the White House by ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison. But in our country, many Guantanamos exist, only our Guantanamos are home to students, women's rights activists, labor organizers, political activists, and journalists. We, as former student activists who spent time in Iranian prisons under inhumane conditions, call on you and all those who defend human rights, freedom and equality to express solidarity to the people of Iran as they wage their struggle for freedom."

I rmember all the attention that the American people paid to Soviet dissidents back during the 1970s and 1980s. We knew their names and what they had done to be swept away to the Soviet gulags. It should be even easier now to follow their stories with all the modern communications technologies that we have now. Iran is a menace following the model of the Soviet Union when you consider their efforts to destabilize the entire Middle East. Will Obama listen to the voices of Iran's dissidents or is he to enthralled by the possibility that his golden voice and pliant attitude will be sufficient to mark a new relationship with Iran?