President Ahmadinejad to be questioned by Iranian lawmakers

**gaelic cowboy** · 11-25-2010, 18:01

Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr

Shi'a Islam is more disposed to being moderate than Sunni Islam, its strong hierarchy and sort of priestly caste means that there will always be a moderating influence to keep the would-be fanatics under control. It also makes Shi'aness less prone to modernisation/liberalisation. I guess its kind of like the Catholicism of Islam.

It is the wet dream of pentagon planners to have a moderate government in Iran who has less frosty relations with the West. The benfits geo-politically and blah blah blah are the nightmare of the even more repressive Sunni governments.

**Rhyfelwyr** · 11-25-2010, 18:13

Originally Posted by gaelic cowboy

It is the wet dream of pentagon planners to have a moderate government in Iran who has less frosty relations with the West. The benfits geo-politically and blah blah blah are the nightmare of the even more repressive Sunni governments.

At the end of the day it doesn't really affect us how barbarous or backward the type of Islam they practise in some countries is. Even the strictest Saudi Wahhabists condemn Al-Qaeda's vision of jihad. Sure they are as backward as you can be and I wouldn't want to live there, but at least they aren't going to come here and try to blow me up. The hobted of the idea of global jihad is not the well consolidated backward regimes, but the unstable places like Yemen, Somalia etc.

They young Wabbabist of an Indonesian university is infinitely more dangerous to me than some old Wahhabist guy looking after some goats in the desert (or whatever they do).

**gaelic cowboy** · 11-25-2010, 18:28

Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr

At the end of the day it doesn't really affect us how barbarous or backward the type of Islam they practise in some countries is. Even the strictest Saudi Wahhabists condemn Al-Qaeda's vision of jihad. Sure they are as backward as you can be and I wouldn't want to live there, but at least they aren't going to come here and try to blow me up. The hobted of the idea of global jihad is not the well consolidated backward regimes, but the unstable places like Yemen, Somalia etc.

They young Wabbabist of an Indonesian university is infinitely more dangerous to me than some old Wahhabist guy looking after some goats in the desert (or whatever they do).

True but then I was more thinking about how Saudi and the like would have to let there grip on power slip as the inevitable backlash came from there own people watching things like elections in Iran/Iraq on telly.

As long as unemployment of young men especially young graduates continues in the middle east an Central Asia then OBL will live on in some form. Notice how there tends to be a lot of engineering and technical people in the upper echelons of Al-Qaeda there is a book there if someone would write it.

**HoreTore** · 11-25-2010, 19:32

Let's get the commies back in power in Iran.

An atheist, social democratic Iran.....

**Rhyfelwyr** · 11-25-2010, 19:57

Originally Posted by HoreTore

Let's get the commies back in power in Iran.

So you support foreign-backed regime change in the middle east?!

**HoreTore** · 11-25-2010, 20:27

Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr

So you support foreign-backed regime change in the middle east?!

Why on earth wouldn't I?

I don't give a crap about other people's nationalist feelings, Rhy, you should know that by now

**Rhyfelwyr** · 11-25-2010, 21:09

Originally Posted by HoreTore

Why on earth wouldn't I?

I don't give a crap about other people's nationalist feelings, Rhy, you should know that by now

Yeah but normally the rhetoric from the left is about imperialism or something like that.

**Prince Cobra** · 11-25-2010, 21:11

Ahmadinejad made the mistake to think he is more than a pawn of the Supreme Leader Khamenei. Khamenei demonstrated that he is the boss by throwing the president out of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Iran in the beginning of November 2010 and now this follows. I think this decision has nothing to do with the foreign policy, though.

Foregin policy is in the hands of the Supreme leader who relies more and more on the military (the Revolutionary Guard). Ahmadinejad was simply a bit of a show man. In fact, his provocative behaviour harmed Iran greatly. His main advantage was that the Leader considered him popular and easy to be manipulated. And also conservative, of course.

The reasons for the Iranian nuclear programme are a bit complicated. The operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (along with the statute of Iran as pariah state) made the regime leaders (Khamenei and the militarymen from the Revolutionary guard) a bit paranoid and therefore, more than ever the programme is a source to guarantee their political survival. , The programme is also popular amongst the Iranians. In addition, the pressure on Iran (especially the idea of military strikes by Israel/USA) is used by the Iranian propaganda to rally the people around the regime. They won't be successful unless Israel or USA makes the blunder to air strike Iran (which I doubt).

In reality the programme is not that successful (though definately operational) , which makes the situation even more complicated. I wonder what will happen on the next round of negotiations. Yet I am a bit sceptic due to the forementioned reasons.