Neither is a recruit to US imperialism as far as I know. The point is that because Rafjani is a free market advocate and for accommodating US interests that he is favoured by US imperialism. He would open up the country to US capital and perhaps even agree to some type of accommodation on the nuclear issue if he thought he could profit from it. Ahmadinejad on the other hand is strongly anti-us and his constituency seems to be those less westernised and not well off.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar_Hashemi_Rafsanjani
Domestic policy Rafsanjani advocated a free market economy. With the state's coffers full, Rafsanjani pursued an economic liberalisation policy.[6] Rafsanjani's support for a deal with the United States over Iran's nuclear programme and his free-market economic policies contrasted with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies, who advocate showing the West no quarter while pursuing a course of budget-busting state handouts in the face of repeated warnings of future economic problems.[7]
He urged universities to cooperate with industries. Turning to the quick pace of developments in today's world, he said that with "the world constantly changing, we should adjust ourselves to the conditions of our lifetime and make decisions according to present circumstances".[8] Among the projects he initiated are Islamic Azad University.[9] During his administration inflation hit a record high of 49%.[10]
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KF16Ak05.html
If we are to leave out the largely inconsequential "Gucci crowd" of north Tehran, who no doubt imparted a lot of color, verve and mirth to Mousavi's campaign, the hardcore of his political platform comprised powerful vested interests who were making a last-ditch attempt to grab power from the Khamenei-led regime. On the one hand, these interest groups were severely opposed to the economic policies under Ahmadinejad, which threatened their control of key sectors such as foreign trade, private education and agriculture.
For those who do not know Iran better, suffice to say that the Rafsanjani family clan owns vast financial empires in Iran, including foreign trade, vast landholdings and the largest network of private universities in Iran. Known as Azad there are 300 branches spread over the country, they are not only money-spinners but could also press into Mousavi's election campaign an active cadre of student activists numbering some 3 million.
The Azad campuses and auditoria provided the rallying point for Mousavi's campaign in the provinces. The attempt was to see that the campaign reached the rural poor in their multitudes who formed the bulk of voters and constituted Ahmadinejad's political base. Rafsanjani's political style is to build up extensive networking in virtually all the top echelons of the power structure, especially bodies such as the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, the Qom clergy, Majlis, judiciary, bureaucracy, Tehran bazaar and even elements within the circles close to Khamenei. He called into play these pockets of influence.
Cheers, ken hanly
Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html
--- On Mon, 6/22/09, Michael McIntyre <morbidsymptoms at gmail.com> wrote:
> From: Michael McIntyre <morbidsymptoms at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Hamid Dabashi on Iran
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 10:36 AM
> I wonder when Rafsanjani became a
> recruit to US imperialism. Was it before
> 1997, whereupon his imperial overlords failed to
> notice? And if not, how
> has he changed since 1997? Or what about
> Khatami? Also a recruit whom we
> failed to notice? And those bad hejabis are, no
> doubt, willing tools of
> neoliberalism.
>
> Oddly enough, even though I suggested the obscure
> "catonism" as a better
> term than "fascism," my Iranian comrade in a recent email
> had no hesitation
> in referring to "the inexplicable defense of fascism by
> segments of the US
> left" (referencing, in particular, the garbage Yoshie has
> been posting at
> MRZine).
>
> MM
>
> On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 9:01 AM, ken hanly <northsunm at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > So what significance is it that many Iranians
> are embarassed by
> > Ahmadinejad that many on LBO think he is a clown
> and even call him fancy
> > phallic names. Many Canadians were embarassed by
> Mackenzie King who
> > consulted mediums and talked to his dead mom but they
> voted him in as prime
> > minister. He was no worse than most and better than
> many. More to the point
> > is what Otum said:
> >
> > More to the point than his Holocaust denial is that if
> Ahmadinejad tomorrow
> > miraculously aquiesced to Western objectives in the
> Lebanon (ie stopped
> > supporting Hezbollah), and opened Iran to Western
> capital, then Iran would
> > overnight cease to be a "paraiah," and Ahmadinejad
> would overnight become
> > either a reformer or a strongman, and no more of an
> "embarrassment" than is
> > a King Abdullah, a Mubarak or an Abu Mazen. And
> Iranian elections would
> > become no more of an issue than Egyptian, Palestinian
> or Saudi elections are
> > today.
> >
> > To mirror what Sawaicki said about fascists getting
> recruits among the
> > working class, US imperialism gets recruits among the
> well off corrupt and
> > powerful among the theocratic elite such as
> Rafsanjani. In spite of his
> > corruption and links to the mullahs he would be no
> embarassment at all, just
> > as it was no embarassment to link with the jihadists
> when they were
> > attacking the evil empire in Afghanistan or as in the
> examples that Otum
> > gives.
> > It is also characteristic of US liberal
> supporters of US imperialism to
> > use the term fascism in a loose way as a boo word.
> >
> > Of course the discussion veers off into other channels
> and ignores what
> > Otum had to say.
> >
> > cheers, k hanly
> >
> > Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html
> > Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html
> >
> >
> > --- On Mon, 6/22/09, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > > From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
> > > Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Hamid Dabashi on Iran
> > > To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> > > Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 7:38 AM
> > >
> > > On Jun 22, 2009, at 12:40 AM, Chris Doss wrote:
> > >
> > > > Isn't holocaust denial taught in Saudi
> schools, along
> > > with the Protocols?
> > >
> > > Maybe so, but so what? Iran is to some degree a
> democracy
> > > and Saudia Arabia is a repressive hellhole. What
> does this
> > > have to do with the fact that many many Iranians
> are
> > > embarrassed by their clown of a president?
> > >
> > > Doug
> > >
> > > ___________________________________
> > > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> > >
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>