[Billthedrill]

Not so sure. Ahmadinejad's power base is Tehran (he used to be the mayor) and he has heavy connections in Qom. Quite often this sort of move is actually in favor of the incumbent in that it gives his opposition less time to mobilize.

That's not to say the mullahs haven't appreciated that he's a very dangerous man, a two edged sword that is cutting them as well as the West. Had he kept his mouth shut they'd be marching forward with their nuclear weapons programs with the West's help, and I mean that literally. His sort of populist brinksmanship has torn the mask off prematurely and has Iran in a much poorer position diplomatically than it was before he started his "death to Israel" act. How nuts do you have to be to start worrying even the Russians?

It will be interesting to see who opposes him in the formal election. The vote itself is mostly a charade. The issue will have been decided by then.

[avacado]

"Had he kept his mouth shut they'd be marching forward with their nuclear weapons programs with the West's help, and I mean that literally."

I always wondered about that. If a country wants to secretly develop nukes, then what is the point of having a big mouth shout to the world that everybody is going to fry in a fiery hell? I never could grasp that logic on that one.

[EndWelfareToday]

Persia (Iran/Iraq) once ruled the known world. Don't underestimate them. It can happen again.

[GOPJ]

His sort of populist brinksmanship has torn the mask off prematurely and has Iran in a much poorer position diplomatically than it was before he started his "death to Israel" act. How nuts do you have to be to start worrying even the Russians?

You're right!