Rafsanjani
Right from the beginning I had my serious doubts about Faux News's reporting on Iran and about CNN's Wolf Blitzer going on non-stop about a reformist move in Iran and then kind of gloating about it. I stopped watching CNN during the Iraq invasion as it had become a propaganda organ for the Bush administration. Right from the beginning there was something not right about the Iraq war and it became obvious as time went by. I did not watch CNN for a few years to come and only started watching it again during the last Presidential election.
Rafsanjani and Mousavi reformists? I kept thinking, how could that be? Rafsanjani was president in the 1990s and very much a part of the Ayotollah establishment and ideology and of course Mousavi was Prime Minister from 1981 to 1989 under Ayotollah Khomeini. It is apparent that there is something more to it. It is a struggle for power between the hardliners and unfortunately young people are being used as pawns to obtain these objectives. Moreover, it is a golden opportunity for the US and other western interests to destabilize Iran. However, it is very hurtful to see that young people and the general public are paying the price.
In almost every society a few are in control and the vast majority is manipulated for the benefit of those few. That applies even more in emerging democracies like Iran. The current struggle looks like one between Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad. Rafsanjani being a very rich and influential man has the capability to finance and stir up the trouble.
A fellow blogger Ken, who knows much more about Iran than I do, has great posts on these issues, which I would recommend reading:
The US has been trying to destabilize Iran.
The Nation magazine and the Iranian election.
Power struggle in Iran and Rafsanjani. Recommend this post
Thanks for the plug and the links to my website.
ReplyDeleteOne point that many people miss is that Rafsanjani is the owner of many educational institutions in Iran and this is a source of many student demonstrators for the opposition.
There is also a strong class dimension to the struggle with the poorer and less well educated supporting Ahmadinejad. This group as a whole have anti-western conservative values that are anathema to western liberals and of course they cannot twitter. Many supporters of Mousavi on the other hand can speak good English and even print English on their signs so that CNN viewers can see Death to the Dictator and Where is my vote? I guess to most western viewers this seems quite natural and not part of an orchestrated public relations campaign. Can you imagine a US opposition cammpaign having signs in Persian to appeal to the Iranians! Iran does not count in US elections. The US counts big time in Irnanian elections so that you get wall to wall twittering, images, and liberal experts on Iran on CNN.
Ken, you’re welcome. You have great posts on Iran. My knowledge of Iran is limited. I know that none of the current contender for power are reformists as such. Your posts really helped me to understand the situation better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment that young people that Rafsanjani and Mousavi are exploiting are well educated. Moreover the clout of Rafsanjani is very obvious.