Civil Society vs. Uncivil Society.  

The Tehran Basiji thugs are not doing well in Tehran these days, as evidenced by this mobile-phone-recorded street-fighting action the last days in the city -- close by the Karim Khan Bridge -- when a lone and spooked Basiji darts out to fire his rifle and then flees in confusion from dozens of unarmed and aggressive young men throwing objects and swarming after him, shouting, "Hamleh!"  (attack). The two open flames in the background are a neat theatrical detail. It is also possible to see the Basiji fleeing in a group, and they have weapons as they run. Bret Stephens told me Monday 14 that he has long supposed the the nuclear fuel dispute between Tehran and the UNSC will come to a head before the clash of the civil society (the students and the Green revolt) with the uncivil society (Ahmadinejad, the IRGC and Basiji); however recent protests have moved Bret Stephens to consider that the civil society is advancing rapidly. The Basiji certainly looks flabby and outnumbered here. When terror fails, when the mob surges in daylight without -- young men not hiding their faces or fearful of gunfire -- what is left to stem the protest?  The Greens are now demanding Ahmadinejad resign, leave the country; and also demanding that Mousavi be handed the presidency.  Iran (Persia) is unto itself a stand-alone civilization that filled Alexander with envy and admiration.   The Persian people created the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic out of a longing for prosperity and style; the Persian people are fully empowered to undo what they did and create a new governance, just like that.