[The Age-Australia] Ehud Ya'ari - What we have witnessed in Iran in recent weeks is a military coup. The re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad represents the emergence of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp as a military dictatorship - pushing aside the clerics and mullahs. The Supreme Leader manipulated the elections to have Ahmadinejad re-elected. Now, however, the Supreme Leader works for Ahmadinejad, not the other way around. Ahmadinejad's government is already 60% Revolutionary Guard, and the Iranian parliament is 40 to 50% ex-Revolutionary Guard officers. This election completes the takeover by this group. In the Middle East, Iran and its regional and nuclear ambitions define the only political and diplomatic game in town - overshadowing all other issues. It's the only game for the Arab states as much as for the Israelis.
2009-07-08 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive