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Iran's Crisis of Competence

(Politico) Christian Oliver - Over the weekend, thousands of Iranians poured back onto the streets to protest about their regime's initial, untruthful attempts to shirk responsibility for shooting down an airliner with 176 people on board. This is dangerous territory for Iran's rulers. Accusations that the leader is mismanaging the country plays to a fury that unites the reformist camp with many more conservative Iranians. There's intense frustration that the Islamic Republic never delivered. The demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday were significant because they showed people were still willing to vent their rage against their government despite security forces brutally crushing protests in November, killing hundreds and arresting thousands. Iranian anger over mismanagement runs far deeper than the latest lies over the plane. Iranians are angry that their country is an economically weakened pariah. One of the deepest grievances is that competent technocrats have been purged and replaced with people with little experience but the right connections, often to the Revolutionary Guard. Despite high levels of education, abundant crude oil, rich mineral reserves and 82 million people, Iran's economy is smaller than Belgium's. The shooting down of the plane underscores the fact that the nation's brightest and best look to emigrate. The list of fatalities was a harrowing litany of not only children and newly married couples, but doctors, engineers and scientists.
2020-01-15 00:00:00
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