November 21, 2007

Official Denouncement Of Ahmadinejad?

The mullahcracy may have had enough of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A well-connected state-run newspaper in Iran accused him of "immoral" behavior by calling opponents of the nuclear program "traitors". The Islamic Republic has close ties to supreme cleric Ali Khameini, and its editorials usually reflect the viewpoint of the ruling clique:

In a hard-hitting editorial on Wednesday, the paper said the president's treatment of his critics was immoral, illogical and illegal.

It was referring to a recent speech by Mr Ahmadinejad when he described people opposed to his nuclear programme as traitors and accused some senior former nuclear negotiators of spying for foreigners.

The paper said Mr Ahmadinejad was using this tactic to discredit his political rivals prior to the parliamentary elections due early next year.

It called on Iran's judiciary to perform its duty and punish people who make baseless allegations and cause public anxiety.

What to make of this? Ahmadinejad owes his position to the mullahs, and could not have won without the consent of Khameini. His rhetoric has been understood to reflect the positions of the Guardian Council, at least of enough of them to matter.

The newspaper's demand for judicial action could not have come without Khameini's approval, at least tacitly. The nuclear program cannot be the reason for this issue, but Ahmadinejad's clumsy diplomacy might. The increased sanctions, fueled in part by Ahmadinejad's careless rhetoric about America and Israel, have bit deeply into the economy. Popular discontent has increased sharply, to the point where some might actually welcome an American decapitation attempt.

That discontent may be precisely the reason Ahmadinejad has received such a momentous public rebuke. The policy goals remain the same, but the delivery has been botched to the point where Iranians appear restive enough for a counter-revolution against the mullahs. This denouncement signals to the people that they share the disfavor of the people for the current administration -- and that the judiciary may step in to end it.

Will the Iranians risk a mouthpiece coup? If they're worried enough about their internal security, Ahmadinejad is eminently dispensable.

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