-- On 21 Oct 2004 at 18:33, Will Morton wrote:
The US missed a real trick when Khatami got into power in 1997; he had a huge swell of popular support behind him, and with significant US backing he could probably have outmaneuvered the conservatives and made some real changes. A truly democratic Persian state would be a huge boost to stability in the Middle East
How could the US have given him support, short of violent means, such as bombing Tehran, which he was reluctant to accept?
Instead, we had the 'axis of evil' hogwash, and lo: the conservatives marginalise Khatami, and we're back to abayas, beards and jihad.
You have this back to front. Khatami was marginalized by the mullahs, and BECAUSE he was marginalized, because democracy in Iran was suppressed, the US government THEN included Iran in the axis of evil. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG bOnKco+tbdVSGb2A96fIOzqUlk5hPdfyqVii+Kw6 4n8dzssBv4gYRUzzCUZUGZRnJ7jaPM6R5ewts5h7t