Trouble in Tehran

An election (to use the term loosely) occured in Iran recently. Was it free and fair?

I think we knew the answer to that even before the election. The unelected leaders of the country (that would be the Mullahs, or Clerics - pick your favorite term), decide who gets to run. They winnow the list down to the ones who are pallatable. Given that selection criteria, does it matter who wins? It would be like someone here in the U.S. getting to pick which candidates are the nominees for the various parties, and which parties can partake in the election. As you can see, there's absolutely no parallel to how free elections should be handled. This is why the youth, who are a much larger portion of the voting base than here in the U.S, haven't bothered to participate in past elections. Why vote if it doesn't really matter? Still, the vote turnout was huge. Within hours the election closing, all 41 million votes were counted (huh?) and the winner announced. The end was a landslide victory for a president with abysmal poll numbers. Hundreds of thousands turn out to protest. The protests are angry and violence is possible - kept in check per usual by ruthless militia and basij. Will the protests gather momentum and break down the regime a la the Sovite Union in the early 90's? Or will the protests falter and fade out? As Yoda would say, "Difficult to tell".

So... what should the US's response be? President Obama recently spoke in Cairo and welcomed the robust debate in Iran. What is the official position on the election and resulting turmoil in Iran? At best it seems to be that they're 'monitoring the situation'. With all the chaos going on, and a window of opportunity rarely seen, Obama is instead speaking to the AMA about overhauling our medical coverage system.

What would I prefer?
A firm affirmation for free and fair elections would be nice.
Sympathy for those who would like their votes to count and matter would be nice.
An observation that we won our independence only with the support of countries like France would be nice. We wouldn't be free today except for the aid of external entities.
An observation that a country that rules itself by oppression cannot claim to be a democracy.
A country that allows a non-elected person or group to select who can run for president (or any other office) cannot call itself a democracy.

We should mold our policies to favor democracies and restrict non-democracies.
We should instruct non-democracies on how to become more free.
We should do this despite the tensions within our own countries. Tensions are natural and helpful. Settling them with violence is the problem. Settling them with words and legislation is the proper route.

I hope that freedom and democracy win out in Iran. Those forces will win in the end, I just hope it's sooner rather than later so they can join the family of democracies. I worry that the longer it takes, the more difficult that transition will be. Without the dictates of the Mullahs, I would worry a lot less about Iran having nuclear weapons. A free Iran would be a wonderful ally for the U.S. and Iraq. A free Iran would deal a harsh blow to Hezbollah and the Syrian dictatorship.