Ahmadinejad is NOT the leader of Iran

My Mom was born and raised in Iran, I still have family living there, and as a matter of fact I went to HS there, back in the days of the Shah.

Your assessment of Ahmedinnerjacket's position is pretty accurate.

the only thing I'd quibble with is your assessment that he's the "figurehead for an elected government".

He's not even that. The mullahs still run Iran -- and actually aren't all that popular -- and Iranian elections mean about as much as elections did in the bad old days of the USSR.

I actually agree, I was just unclear--I meant that he was a figurehead for an entity with no real power. The elections are just for show.

I am so interested in Iran. I knew very little about Iran until my father became very good friends--and went into business--with a man who is from a very prominent, pro-Western Iranian family.

I wish Americans understood Iran better. Iran is a very dangerous state for us. But I think it's SO important for us to understand that a LARGE number of people in Iran love America. If we tread very carefully, I think we can aid in restoring democracy to Iran--which should be our goal--without war.

I pray we our smart enough to do it right. A bit of saber-rattling can be effective, but dropping bombs would be disastrous.

What does your family there think of current Iranian-American relations?

It's interesting (btw, I agree with your assessment).

The government is hugely unpopular, especially with the younger set. You know, they see western lifestyles on satellite and the internet, and they want to participate. There's always been a pretty strongly pro-Western segment there. From what I can figure, it's grown, too. So that presents a problem for the mullahs, and they crack down even harder. It's a vicious circle.

The government's extremely restrictive about allowing people to emigrate the country, and even if you are allowed to leave you can't take any assetts out of the country. So if you own a house or cars or whatever, even if you do sell them, you can't take the money out of the country. So families are forced to break up.

My "uncle" (not a blood relative; it's an Armenian thing) got out with his family, but his folks had to stay behind to take care of their houses, or they'd be overrun with squatters or confiscated. And of course, my uncle had nothing when they got here.

Ultimately, the mullahs could fall; it's a possibility. But my experience in the region tells me they may also become even MORE totalitarian; that's the history of the area.

It's certainly not an area we can successfully invade without an immense committment of military resources. The geography is simply terrible for battle. Rough mountainous terrain, vast deserts, etc. Iraq it ain't! It's more like Afghanistan.

I don't know what the answer is. It's hugely problematic. The idea of those nutty mullahs with nukes is frightening beyond words; those guys are True Believers, real fanatics.

If you get a chance, stop by my place to see my little girl tie the knot.

Interesting thoughts...

Changes things, certainly.

I just posted a new essay "The Outdated Second Amendment" over at my place.