Ahmadinejad's divine inspiration

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BERKELEY, California - Amid a struggle between two major clerical factions for control of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is trying to shore up his conservative base by portraying himself as a man with a direct link to God.

The president, who enjoys close ties to the country's security services, has generally feeble support among the clergy system in the Islamic Republic. He is a strong supporter of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, one of the most radical clerics in Iran, who believes in an "Islamic government" - where the ruler is chosen by God, through representatives such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - rather than the current Islamic Republic, where people vote for their leaders according to Islamic laws.

The Assembly of Experts election on December 15 is significant because it could shift the balance of power between the pragmatic faction of conservatives led by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and the radical faction represented by Yazdi.

The 86-member assembly is charged with electing and monitoring the supreme leader, who, according to Iran's charter, has ultimate power over all other institutions and individuals, including the authority to interpret the constitution.

Asia Times

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Blowback: the tragedy of Iran.

Before the cabal went and knocked over Iraq the Iranian theocrats were slowly losing control over the Iranian Republic. One of the great unintended consequences of the Iraqi Blunder is that it destroyed reform movements across the Islamic world, most spectacularly in Iran.

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2. Yes. Little Assad sits firm in his seat of power, too.

The recent war in Lebanon was a great help to both, as well.