[lbo-talk] Ali Khamenei

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

I have said that Ali Khamenei is the arbiter of contending factions in
Iran, sometimes siding with liberal Westernizers against populist
anti-imperialists, other times vice versa.  That's one way he stays in
power, even though he lacks the authority and legitimacy that
revolution gave Khomeini in the eyes of Iranians.

Critics of Iran's government also help Khamenei stay in power.  When
Khatami was the President of Iran, all that went wrong in the country,
not just things for which he was actually responsible, was often
blamed on Khatami, not on Khamenei; today, the blame goes to
Ahmadinejad, not to Khamenei.  Not just the corporate media but also
liberals have tended to leave Khamenei off the hook.  Strange.
-- 
Yoshie