If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
*ping*
It COULD be collapsed rather easily if only Obama and the West had some spine and basic common sense.
Interesting analysis. Ping for later.
Rose-colored glasses.
The regime is going nowhere for the next 20 years. Because the West has been and continues to be week, they will dominate the ME soon and then begin to stir up factions within Europe.
Perhaps by the 2030s things will turn.
When Ahmadinejad declared that Israel ought to be wiped off the map, he added that this was merely the first stage of the confrontation with the West, which means Christianity. Indeed, part of the animosity that Iranians express toward Judaism and Israel stems from the fact that they consider Judaism to be a pillar of the Christian faith. The Revolutionary Guards have taken over most of the economy, most of the political positions, and have infiltrated the judiciary system, though they continue to let Khamenei act as the face of their regime. Unlike the religious leaders of Iran, the Revolutionary Guards lack moral and religious values, with the exception of one very deep religious belief: that they are the messengers of the Mahdi, the vanguard of the messiah.Thanks SJackson.
Mostly agree with this analysis.
>>>”Unlike the religious leaders of Iran, the Revolutionary Guards lack moral and religious values, with the exception of one very deep religious belief: that they are the messengers of the Mahdi, the vanguard of the messiah...”
Not Exactly.
The main issue for IRI’s hardliners and reformists is Not whether the Islamic Regime should stay or go.
The main dispute/disagreement is HOW (the approach) taken to keep the Islamic Regime & Revolution in power, and prolong its existence:
a) thru IRGC
b) thru a so-called Religious [Islamic] Democracy
c) a combination of above - both in IRI’s domestic as well as foreign policies.
Either way, IRGC will continue to play a significant role in Regime’s domestic & foreign policies. It’s the *balance* that is being disputed/questioned.
The article/analysis below is recommended reading. It was written 2 days after Ahmadinejads first term inauguration in 2005, and still, largely, holds true about IRGC’s core mandate per IRI’s Constitution:
Iran: Defending The Islamic Revolution — The Corps Of The Matter
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060431.html
He is focusing too much on the politics it is the economy that will break them: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2456179/posts