The Iran We Wanted, and the Iran We Got
“In retrospect, it looks like the entire campaign was a show, in the sense that Ayatollah Khamanei was never going to let Ahmadinejad lose. Assuming these results are allowed to stand, I think we should be clear about what type of regime we are dealing with in Tehran. Just as we talk about Assad’s Syria and Mubarak’s Egypt, I think we are now dealing with Khamanei’s Iran.”
And just as we deal with Mubarak's Egypt - and as some have insisted, should be dealing with Assad's Syria - the United States will talk to Khamenei's Iran.
Prior to the vote, the two schools of thought tended to be as follows: the election doesn't matter vs. the election kind of matters. I was in the latter camp. While I feel for those Iranians who voted for Mousavi, and firmly believe that they have been disenfranchised, the concerns of the few cannot change the regional considerations of the west.
Hopefully, President Obama - in his efforts for rapprochement with the regime - will acknowledge this, and insist that direct negotiations be with Khamenei and not Ahmadinejad.
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