Sunday, September 02, 2007

The 'Revolution' Quietly Changes Hands In Iran

RADICALISM AT THE TOP RE-CONFIRMED

AFP reports that Khamenei ... does something other than throw himself at the ever-elusive dream of making the revolution in Iran 'permanent' ... or not:

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a surprise move on Saturday replaced the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards force.

State television said that General Yahya Rahim Safavi would be stepping down to become a special military adviser to Khamenei, and would be replaced by fellow Guards Commander Muhammad Ali Jaafari as the new overall head of the Guards.

“Acknowledging General Safavi’s 28 years of honest service in various military fields and 10 years of successful leadership of the Revolutionary Guards, I appoint you top adviser in military affairs,” said a decree from Khamemei.

A separate decree read, “General Jaafari, taking into account your valuable experience and your brilliant record in the Revolutionary Guards, I appoint you as head of this revolutionary organisation.”

Mr. Jaafari, of course, is ... ready to throw the lives of Iran's kids away just as quickly as the last Supreme Leader, who had Generals allowing children to clear minefields with their lives, even ... To wit:

Tehran, Iran, Aug. 23 – The commander of Iran’s “Lovers of Martyrdom Garrison” – who is a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) – vowed that his suicide volunteers will destroy United States’ interests all over the world in retaliation to any attempt by the U.S. to hit Iran’s nuclear installations.

Who knows how much of this is just bluster to "press buttons", to play on the deepest psychological fears of 'asymmetrically informed' Westerners.

Meanwhile, the Iran President continues to try to build internal support for his brittle and failing leadership by blaming the world for Iran's inability to modernize and goading the world by a dangerous form of saber-rattling.

"We have more than 3,000 centrifuges working and every week a new set is installed," Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.


No one needs an ever growing centrifuge capacity for peaceful energy, do they?

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