Mighty Presumptuous, Your Highness

Why would we ever want to restore a monarchy, even if it's only a figurehead monarchy? If we go to war to effect regime change in Iran, why in God's (or Allah's or Yahweh's or whoever you want's) name would we voluntarily allow the creation of an institution that could be so easily manipulated by someone keen on creating a despotic regime in Iran?

Iran, post revolution, does not need a monarchy. What they need is a functional, responsive, rational government. Even a figurehead despotic regime is the exact opposite of what they need.

"The people might need me, and the dynasty I represent," he added, citing Belgium, Britain, The Netherlands and Spain as examples of modern democracies that have kept their monarchies.

They might need you Pahlavi, but probably not. They certainly don't need the dynasty you represent. The Shah lost power because he failed to fulfill the majority of the needs of the people. The current regime is about to fall for the same reason. To replace a failed government with a reconstituted failed government isn't exactly progress.

The people of Iran need change. Real change, not a return to something discarded. They need to experience the liberty that they are thirsting for. They need to have a real opportunity to decide their future without having to hang onto relics of the past.

Yes, the four nations mentioned all have figurehead monarchies. But they also have a deep traditional of liberal values. They are equipped to reconcile the contradiction of a powerful person with no power or authority. They can cope with a person who rules everyone, while having control over no one (including their own families!)

The people of Iran, don't have the liberal traditions required to reconcile those contradictions. It is going to take time to establish a representative government and the thought processes that allow the contradictions of liberty to exist in spite of themselves. Once that has been firmly established and is accepted as the norm by the Iranian people, then it will be safe to look at restoring a figurehead monarchy.

Restore the monarchy too early and you run the risk of squashing real reform in the nation. Wait too long and what happens? Can you weaken a position with no strength?

The only way that the people of Iran need Pahlavi back is as one of them. If he is truly interested in building a strong and free Iran then he will return after the revolution, not as Shah, but as Mr. Reza Pahlavi - Iranian citizen, no better and no worse than anyone else. If all he's interested in doing is restoring the monarchy, well then he's on the right track.

Let's hope that for the sake of Iran, the Iranian people reject a restoration. It's time to move on.