Talk:Iranian opposition group declares all acts of current government void

Is this group even real? I highly doubt the veracity of this article.

I am somewhat concerned about the veracity of some of the statements reported in this article too (I don't, however, doubt the verity of the article's existence --- for, as you can plainly see, it is right here in front of you to read). That is the chief reason I have it under "developing stories" instead of in the main article list. Right now it just seems to be something that's floating around the blogosphere. As we all know, some of the stuff out there proves to be legitimate, and some of it doesn't.

If the "cells" are secret, it's pretty hard to confirm or disprove their supposed existence. The American "contacts" of this group claim they are real, and they have sent letters to world leaders, which makes it newsworthy, IMHO. Whether the supposed resistance is strong enough to pull something like this off is another matter. I have no way of knowing. But who knew the true extent of the Polish Home Army before the Rising? Who ever thought it would happen? Since it failed, did that make it less newsworthy? What about all the failed coup attempts throughout history, many of them pathetically bungled and lacking in popular support. Are they not newsworthy when they happen? More recently, the CIA thought that Shah was perfectly secure, even though there was massive opposition to his rule. Oops! How many Americans had ever heard of Osama bin Ladin before 9/11, and thought he had the capability to take down the World Trade Center? People listen with rapt attention to his public proclamations now, and weigh the apparent hyperbole against what he has been able to accomplish.

These letters were obviously intended for Western news media consumption. This group is very media-savvy. But just because they are media savvy doesn't mean they aren't savvy in other ways as well. Perhaps they do have a well organized, flexible, cell-based resistance operating inside and outside Iran to bring down the regime. Even claiming to have one is pretty newsworthy, just for its sheer boldness. When June 16th rolls around, this may all prove to be a complete hoax, or wishful thinking on the part of out-of-touch exiles. Or it could prove to be exactly what it claims to be: a warning to the mullahs to cede power that will be ignored at their peril. We may take this announcement from SOSIran with a grain of salt, but we shouldn't ignore it.

In other news, I think I'm going to get off my duff and start an account.--69.245.192.52 18:22, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Done!--Jpbrenna 18:42, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)

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I don't know how realistic the claimed extent of this internal opposition is, and I'm kind of suspicious of anyone who claims to speak for 100% of a nation of 70 million people, but it does seem like a pretty newsworthy declaration, so here it is. --Me 02:13, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)

June coincidence?

Funny, but this US-based alleged opposition group seems to be aligning its timetable with that of the US government, which asked armed forces to be ready to attack Iran by June 2005 and has set a June deadline in the Security Council. Could this be a coincidence? Anyway, its lack of comment about normal democratic process is IMHO an NPOV fact that should be added to the article. Boud 01:14, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)