The more things change...

Submitted by Barry Goldberg (United States), Jun 21, 2009 at 08:17

Dear Mr. Pipes,

I confess to agreeing with your first assessment, not with this.

It seems clear to me that Khameini is calling the shots, despite Rubin's recent--and most interesting--analysis in the LA Times. He is the Supreme Leader, has the Guard--and of course God--on his side, and has too much at stake, personally, as well as Islamically.

Ahmadinejad, for all his cunning, is still a figurehead--albeit a cultlike and growing-stronger one.

Mousavi's strongest supporters will soon be, as Rubin posits, cast in prison, disappear, and forced to recant "counter-revolutionary" heresies.

With Khameini having just viciously lashed out at Britain, this informs us that his rhetoric now aligns with Ahmadinejad's.

In relatively short order, we will find order restored, Ahmadinejad firmly in charge of the presidency, and Iran moving rapidly forward toward nuclear arms and Middle East supremacy.

Know thy enemy, we are forewarned. Let us not forget not only who he is--Khameini--but that he is immediately in front of us, no matter the face of the president.

Warmly,
Barry Goldberg

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