Kristof gets an account from an American journalist who describes how his translator was beaten by government forces. Kristof then reflects:
The Iranian people have been seething for more than half a century at the way the United States organized a coup in 1953 to block the democratic will of the people. It’ll be interesting to see if anger at the regime for — apparently — blocking the democratic will of the people has as big a legacy.
In my experience, when regimes have to go after citizens with truncheons and belt buckles, it’s usually a pretty good sign that they do so because they can’t succeed any other way; it’s a reflection that they have no legitimacy left.
The Dish 