All Iran is a stage...and the presidential candidates merely puppets in it!

I wonder when the last time was, that Iran  had a president that was actually the decision maker. A man whose power was actually power and not just a title attached to string with a puppet  aster tweaking and pulling to his needs.

It is an interesting country, with all the riches and wealth beneath its soil, everyone has been fighting for control, except that those that are supposedly in control have no say.

I recently had an argument with a friend of mine, who was speaking of Aref's withdrawal from the presidential race with utter dismay. She claimed he was the hope, the one that would be most likely to bring reform. Caked in cynicism, i could not help but reply "aren't they really all just the same?" The truth, we all know far too well, is that whoever wins the election may have a little pull here and there, but the big decisions are up to the Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khameini.

The very fact that he is referred to as the "Supreme Leader" alludes to the fact that his word is final, "supreme" if you will. Calling oneself "leader" has not had the best reputation in history, if il Duce or Fuhrer, ring any bells. All over the world people are rising up demanding democracy, and since we are already looking back on history, if we can learn anything from Gorbechov or De Klerk, it is that a system can be changed from the inside, if those with the power are willing to relinquish just a little for the sake of their nation. Khameini, however, does not seem to possess this quality, the disqualification of  Masha'i and Rafsanjani along with the continued house arrest of Moussavi show that he is holding on to his authority with
 both hands, tightly. So what difference does it really make that Aref withdrew?

At the end of the day until the Republic of Iran becomes a true democracy where the religion is not intertwined into every decision, Iran will remain a puppet theatre and the people just an audience to the Ayatollah's whims.