Well it appears that Ahmadinejad has won the presidency. This means that the radical Islamic right controls all of the major institutions of the state, from the parliament, to the presidency, to the courts, to the faqihship itself. Can tyranny be far off? Dr. Matthew Wells

I am too ignorant to even post--who is Sieyes?--but could it be a case of (blush to say) the worse the better? Rafsanjani would seem to be a middle choice; this fellow is more extreme and would seem more likely to push the system to and beyond its limits sooner. Assuming, of course, that one wants the present system to change.

I am afraid I have been too cryptic...Franz von Papen was the chancellor who helped to usher in Hitler. Seiyes was the ultra-conservative who aided Bonaparte in his coup de etat. The point is: the trend in Iran is clear...politics is rapidly becoming militarized (Ahmadinejad is the favorite candidate of the Revolutionary Guards). This mimics other popular revolutions where the militarization of politics heralded the end of the revolutionary period (Thermidor)...but before we get too excited about the potential demise of the mullahs, as in turns out a military takeover in the aforementioned revolutionary states (France and Germany) is even worse, marked by an increase in an aggressive foreign policy and expansionist tendencies, ultimately leading to hegemonic conflict (ie., international war). Will this occur if the trend continues? Time will tell, but things do not look good for Iran, internally or externally...

So now the radicals are in power from top to bottom. The people were able to elect a powerless "reformer" last time. Now the Revolutionary Guards have their man. What will this mean for popular discontent? The Council of Guardians already controlled the military, police, courts, prisons, and the oil industry. They could shut down any publication that they disliked. what happens when the people have no voicce at all?

It appears totalitarianism looms on the horizon.