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For those still confused with as to why foreign intervention is not welcomed, needed or appropriate in Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, Goudarz Eghtedari offers an insightful take in his op-ed piece published today in the Oregonian.

U.S. should support Iran’s reform movement, but from a distance

by; Goudarz Eghtedari

A week of demonstrations has passed in Iran with students expressing the people’s desire for freedom and democracy. The protests look a lot like those that occurred four years ago. Then students for the first time staged demonstrations in the streets of Tehran in support of the reform movement and freedom of the press, which was under attack by the theocratic regime’s hard-line judiciary.

Today however, things have changed tremendously. Two neighboring authoritarian regimes have been toppled through the intervention by the United States. That by itself has created lots of anxiety in Iran, especially for the hard-liners among the clergy, who control the judiciary, military, intelligence and practically all the other power strongholds. This time around, student demonstrations are focused on fundamental changes in the country’s constitution, including the call for the removal of the position of supreme leader. This change enjoys the support of internal reformists and opposition forces, including a surprising majority of elected representatives. It promises to reform the system toward becoming a democratic republic with separation of religion and state. This call is also endorsed by a solid majority of Iranian expatriates abroad, several thousands of whom, like me, have found their home in Oregon.

Two camps in our administration in the United States also support democratization in Iran. The State Department favors a less intrusive approach, allowing for a leadership to emerge from within the movement, while negotiating issues of interest with the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

On the other hand, a group of neoconservatives, lead by Michael Ledeen and Daniel Pipe, are calling for a rapid regime change, even if military intervention is deemed necessary. This latter group surprisingly has support of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. It appears to endorse the return to power of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah, the last monarch of Iran. Although as freedom-loving Americans it is our duty to support the reform and democracy movement inside Iran, I think we have to act very delicately in this endeavor. The people of Iran are working hard to create change from within the country, and we need to tread carefully to ensure that our good intentions do not end up hurting the domestic movement for democracy.

Iranians are independent-minded and still have the bad memory of U.S. intervention back in 1953, when a CIA-led coup d’etat overthrew the democratically elected government and brought back 25 more years of the shah’s authoritarian regime.

The Iranian population’s level of political sophistication is astonishing, and a sustainable and viable democracy in Iran can come into being only if it is homegrown and independent from outside forces. America’s support for democracy is best expressed from a distance, and getting too close to the movement will only end up undermining the people’s tireless efforts, as can excessive external pressure to speed up the process of political evolution in Iran. A more physical U.S. presence, including any military involvement, will strengthen the hard-liner’s positions and negatively affect the democracy movement by appealing to the nationalistic sensitivities of the people.

The United States should stand with the people of Iran by expressing support for their democratic aspirations, but without backing any political faction or specific form of government and by making it clear that only the people of Iran should decide the future of their country.

Goudarz Eghtedari of Portland is a writer, commentator and radio producer. He has served on the board of the Oregon Peace Institute and is a guest lecturer at Portland State University, where he is a Ph.D. candidate in systems science.

His original article appears here and he believes his commentary also caused the paper’s editorial board to add an editorial endorsing his position.