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Subject: A New Islamic Revolution
MCW    6/30/2005 8:16:56 PM
Apparently president-elect Ahmadinejad has declared his election as the beginning of a new "revolution." The question is: Does he think he is the "fulfillment of the revolution," a new Bonaparte, or hezbollahi Reza Khan, or what? Who was the most prominent radical rightist to declare his election a "new revolution?" Oh it was Hitler (pardon the Hitler reference Jon Stewart). Will Ahmadinejad be the menace that Hitler was? Who knows, but he has already set Iran on a collision course with the West. In my opinion, this new brand of radical-right wing Islam is the closest thing to Nazism we have yet seen. I dislike it when people use "Nazi" comparisons lightly but when the politics matches (authoritarianism and far right) the comparison is valid. At this present moment Iranian democracy is a grave danger. It may turn out that Ahmadinejad is not a Bonaparte or a Hitler, but the militarization of Iranian politics sure does open a can of worms.... Dr. Matthew Wells
 
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timon_phocas    RE:A New Islamic Revolution   6/30/2005 9:27:59 PM
The Iranian presidency is a pale shadow of an office. A "reformer" was elected last time and was able to do nothing because he did control the real lever of power. The Council of Guardians did. A radical Islamist won this election. He will still only be able to do what the Council of Guardians wants.
 
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MCW    RE:A New Islamic Revolution   6/30/2005 10:56:42 PM
The situation is different this time. The so-called reformers were centrists and leftists. The Council of Guardians is controlled by the right. The current parliament is rightist as is the presidency now. There are likely to be less disagreements with the COG this time. Likewise the neo-conservatives have a trump card...alliance with the revolutionary guards and paramilitary units like the Basij. The faqih and the COG will have to think twice about dealing with the Abadgaran and Ahmadinejad lest they have a coup on their hands. Iran's current political situation parallels revolutionary France about 1798-9 shortly after neo-conservatives under the leadership of Lucien Bonaparte captured the lower house of parliament; when Joseph Bonaparte dominated the upper house; and Sieyes was elected to the Directory. The conservatives were split into traditional and neo-conservative blocs. Ultimately it was the second generation that triumphed when they realized the older traditionalists had lost their guts. Seiyes approached Napoleon and he overthrew the lead Director Barras in a military coup. A similar thing occurred in Weimar Germany. Around 1932-3, the Nazis became the major player in the parliament with Goering being elected speaker. Hitler assumed the relatively powerless position of chancellor, but used his alliance withe the military and paramilitary units (stormtroopers) to leverage President Hindenburg and the Nationalist Party, ultimately being appointed President. It seems Iran's neo-conservatives have a similar strategy. Dr. Matthew Wells
 
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displacedjim    RE:A New Islamic Revolution   7/1/2005 12:05:01 PM
What the heck is an "Iranian neo-conservative"? Displacedjim
 
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swhitebull    RE:A New Islamic Revolution   7/1/2005 1:15:37 PM
...What the heck is an "Iranian neo-conservative"?.... Displacedjim... An Iranian that trims his beard, rather than letting it flow freely. Bottom line is that regardless of the label, those in control are STILL Islamo-Fascists, and its only a matter of time before the "people" are fed up with the mullahs and put their beards to the torch. Faster, please (to quote analyst Michael Ledeen). swhitebull
 
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Herc the Merc    What the heck is an Iranian neo-conservative?   7/1/2005 7:28:13 PM
They attend school at U of Qom, play golf in Teheran in exclusive clubs not allowed to the public and their club song is the all to familiar "Death to..".
 
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Pseudonym    Oh how I wish   7/1/2005 11:24:42 PM
"An Iranian that trims his beard, rather than letting it flow freely. Bottom line is that regardless of the label, those in control are STILL Islamo-Fascists, and its only a matter of time before the "people" are fed up with the mullahs and put their beards to the torch." Would be a great thing to watch SW, but I doubt any of us will live to see it happen, unless the world suddenly wakes up and realizes there is a reason not to let Iran have nukes.
 
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swhitebull    RE:A New Islamic Revolution   7/2/2005 1:04:58 AM
....A New Islamic Revolution.. It seems the Europeans are NOT fans of The Who. As for the Americans - We Wont Be Fooled Again swhitebull
 
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jhaley    RE:A New Islamic Revolution   7/2/2005 9:52:28 AM
How come the new revolution looks just like the old one! Now matter if it comes out of the rear of a poodle, or a mutt, its still dogsh@t! Welcome to the new "revolutionary" Iran!
 
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MCW    RE:A New Islamic Revolution-What's an Iranian Neo-conservative   7/3/2005 11:26:23 PM
The traditional conservatives of the regime are those with close ties to the traditional clergy. The clergy control large tracks of land and thus the traditional conservative fear Islamic leftists and reformers who seek to confiscate and redistribute land to the country's poor. The revolution has already seen the massive confiscation of royal and noble property, much of which is controlled by large state organizations (eg., The Foundation for the Downtrodden, and the Martyrs Foundation). The traditional conservatives want to prevent clerical property from being seized by the state and thus tend to regard property as sacrosanct. Their economic philosphy is based largely aon the ideas of the Ayatollah Baqr Sadr. They also are conservative when it comes to cultural issues (eg. dress). They tend to favor a form of bazaari capitalism. The neo-conservatives are different. They don't necessarily favor the confiscation of property but instead favor an state based system similar to that under the Nazis...neo-corporatism...or in modern terms state sponsored technocratic capitalism. The neo-cons are different in another way, they see a strong role for the government in capitalist trade, and international trade relations. The state should play a prominent role in the lives of the individual. Dr. Wells
 
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