Sneaking Around War

Iran is a Theocracy and the United State in Trying be a Dictatorship

States, and their make-up, make the rules.

Ali Khamenei isn’t a dictator but the leader of a fanatic group, or Primus inter pares. This means that Hitler is a dictator while Tojo was the first among equals. Iran will pass the mantle to another Ayatollah, because while the theocracy of Iran is heated, they are still Iranians, or better, the people you know, than the people who you don’t know. We should think on this, because while Iran promises retribution for the Supreme Leader’s death, it is only 50-50 that they actually mean it. The leadership of Iran wants to maintain power. They have a plurality, but not a majority, of support. Much of the rest of the population of Iran either doesn't care or actively dislikes the regime in power. In the major urban centers, there is a core group of people who would like to shift towards the west, but there is also a large conservative population in the cities who believe that the current government represents their interests. And the dwindling, but still vital, rural population is sadly in the camp of Islamic fundamentalism.

The problem with a crass dictatorship is that there has to be another side for people to change their allegiance to, and this is not happening in Iraq at the present time. There has to be a side for millions of people to line up for rather than line up against. The trend will continue to be against the Supreme Council and the Supreme Leader, and it may be that the change is coming, but it is not yet here because the tools of repression are all in the government’s control, particularly the military.

This means that the dictator of the United States can blather all he wants about overthrow, but in reality, he is interested in profits for himself in this little bombing campaign. This is the reality of the current conflict: two powers control the apparatus of government, but do not control the loyalty of the people. While there are large differences, there are also similarities in terms of the religious power being used as a means of control.

This means that the President of the United States, the Blotus of Potus, says that this is a war that American service personnel must die in, but also that it is not a war just a series of strategic bombings. Which makes no sense at all.