"Khatami, 65, was president of Iran between 1997 and 2005. He was succeeded by President Ahmadinejad, a hardliner who is set to stand again and has reportedly received the blessing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei." Of course, without the public support of Khamenei it's hard to see Khatami actually being elected but it's an interesting move given his past remarks about a number of issues including, and perhaps the most pertinant to many here - Iran's nuclear programme. Don't misunderstand, it's not as if in reality Khatami is so very different to Ahmadinejad, but to western eyes appearance counts as much as substance. It can be no coincidence this announcement comes a day or so before Netanyahu wins Isreal's elections [as I expect he will] and so soon after less than glory covered 'overtures' by the US. It's an intriguing tactical move by him and thus by Khamenei [behind the scenes]. Of course, if Netanyahu doesn't win ... Now I shall await the usual suspect to a) fail to understand b) advocate bombing Iran back to the stone age or c) both. You know who you are, and your pulpit, sorry - stage awaits, but don't stay up too late kids. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=85090§ionid=351020101
well, considering it is Khameini who pulls all the strings anyway and he has been the true power since the death of the original psycopathic Ayatollah, i do not see any real change in direction. He has been steering his country into a widening conflict for years, first with ISrael, then the gulf arab states and finally the US. Regardless of any overtures by Iran, when Netanyahu wins, he will eventually strike Iran because of the recent proxy wars and the nuclear program. As you said, appearance may be more important than substance to western eyes, but the reality is that the substance is where the problem lies with the Iran issue.
You got that right. 2 issues with appearance that bother me. 1. Iran's forked tongue representing both a desire for peace and at the same time a desire for the destruction of Israel. 2. Liberals in America and their fetish for being popular with world opinion. Not good combinations.
I don't know how much credibility to assign to computer & gaming modeling of real-world issues, especially when it comes to the supremely irrational Middle East, but an advisor to the CIA, who has a 90% accuracy rate, political scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, reports a forecast where Iran will not produce nuclear bombs. The model predicts a decline in influence of religious leaders corresponding to an increase of influence of the bankers and oil producers. The model also predicts where Iran's nuclear program will produce weapons grade fuel, but in amounts insufficient for a bomb. Computer model says Iran won't build nuclear bombs : Defence Tech : Defense News Air Force Army Navy News My inclination is to discount it as part of the advisor's 10%, but who, knows, Obama just might get a break.
