What Does “Support” Mean?

I wish I knew what the editors of the Washington Post meant by “support” when they say “the West should support the protesters in Iran”:

At the same time, Mr. Trump should avoid acts that would undercut the protests and empower the regime’s hard-liners. Foremost among these would be a renunciation of the 2015 nuclear accord. That would divide the United States from European governments when they should be coordinating their response to the uprising, and it would give the regime an external threat against which to rally. Reform of the nuclear accord can wait. Now is the time for Mr. Trump to focus on supporting the people of Iran.

I think the best thing that Western politicians and journalists can do to “support” the protesters is maintain a low profile. Any statement, any insertion of the West into the protests may be construed as Western interference in the internal affairs of Iran. That is, after all, the origin myth of the present mullahocracy: heroic Iranians overthrew the Shah’s regime which had been put in place by the Americans who overthrew the democratically-elected Mossadegh government. Let’s not give patriotic Iranians reasons to oppose the protests.

1 comment… add one
  • steve Link

    Agreed. My Trump supporting friends want him to be tough and strong. He should criticize Iran non-stop and threaten them. Offer the protestors weapons. Why not just require the protestors to wear US flags on the front, and a target on the back instead? Amounts to the same thing.

    Steve

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