Govermnent REHUGO - Analyses of Current Events

Karsha Smith

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

16 February 2011

Government REHUGO – Analyses of Current Events

A.    Article: "Terry Arnold - US Meddling In Iran Election." – author: Terrell Arnold

Article: "Iran: The Struggle for Freedom Continues - The Henry Jackson Society." –author: Fariborz Saremi

B.     In these articles, the issue involving the protests in Iran is discussed. Arnold believes other countries should leave Iran alone when the people choose their leaders, and when the issue of diplomacy is mentioned. The U.S. has pressured Iran into their way of life, and even has used military force. Arnold believes the U.S. should not intervene if the government is trying to change the other. Saremi discusses that the U.S. should still help Iran achieve democracy despite the issues involving nuclear weapons. The U.S. should not turn away to help Israel because of the chance that Iran might have more advanced nuclear weapons. If the U.S. is an ally to Iran, then most likely Iran will “share” the nuclear weapons with them. Saremi believes Iran will become very powerful, and we will need their support.

C.     Evidence:

a.       Arnold highlights the topic by referring back to when Iran was voting for a new president. They had much difficulty because the people argued over the leaders Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. When Ahmadinejad won the presidency, many people protested and claimed the votes were rigged. There was no evidence to cheating the votes, so it is believed they were only trying to find a way to get their preferred leader another chance. This is how the major protesting began. Many people were against their leader, and began demanding democracy/diplomacy. Arnold’s knowledge of past occurrences supports his ethos.

b.      Saremi highlights the topic by using his knowledge about the assumption that Iran had been given nuclear weapons by Russia and China through a treaty. In fear of these weapons being used against the U.S., Saremi believes America should help Iran in any way possible. What comes around goes around. The idea is that if we help them then they will help us. America could help Iran achieve democracy just like they had hoped for, in return for military weapon support/protection. Saremi creates a very convincing argument based off of one of the main democratic goals: maintaining safety and security.

D.    Rhetorical Strategies:

a.       Ethos – Arnold uses ethos when he explains the subject by first referring to past elections.

b.      Logos – “there are far more ordinary Iranian folk than the academic, intellectual and business elites, and judging simply from the voting numbers (a reported 82% of the electorate), far more ordinary people voted in this election than the elites could muster” (Arnold). By mentioning how many people voted, he helps the reader to further understand the situation. More people voted, symbolizing this election was considered a very big deal, and stressing how deep the competition really was.

c.       Symbolism – “The Obama administration should make it clear that it stands with Iran’s democratic, secular opposition and lead an International Coalition to pressure Tehran to unclench its fist from around the throats of its own people” (Saremi). This symbolizes how Obama strongly believes Tehran’s people should be let on a longer leash. Tehran was hurting its own people instead of supporting them, and Obama hopes to stop this injustice.

d.      Logos – “Although the official death toll stands at 20 protestors, there are unconfirmed reports that 300 protestors have been killed since June 12” (Saremi). Saremi uses numbers to encourage the reader to realize the intensity of this disagreement. Iran’s people have been so motivated to protest for what they believe in, but have been physically beaten by the people that had sworn to protect them. They want their thoughts to be heard, and will stop at nothing until they succeed.

E.     Saremi and Arnold make very impressive points involving this conflict with Iran and America. Saremi creates a stronger argument when he mentions how he is looking after the safety and security of the Iran people and the Americans. Saremi uses his knowledge to his advantage and supports his thesis with straight to the point descriptions.

MLA Citations for article:

Arnold, Terrell E. "Terry Arnold - US Meddling In Iran Election." Jeff Rense Program. 22 June 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. <http://www.rense.com/general86/regime.htm>.

Saremi, Fariborz. "Iran: The Struggle for Freedom Continues - The Henry Jackson Society." Welcome to The Henry Jackson Society's Website - The Henry Jackson Society. 25 Sept. 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. <http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org/stories.asp?id=1269>.