Ahmadinejad be damned

It’s all over the Iranian press: President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, self-described “street cleaner of the people”, is in deep political trouble at home, subjected to crossfire from conservatives and reformers alike. All the more ironic considering the biblical tsunami of Washington spin portraying Ahmadinejad as the newest “new Hitler” (Saddam Hussein, after all, fell victim to a lynch mob).

Keeping Ahmadinejad on a leash will be a crucial part of the nationalist theocracy’s strategy of doing everything in its power not to incur further US wrath – as the Bush administration escalates its formidable array of acts of provocation. Ahmadinejad is now seen as too much of a loose cannon to be left to his own devices – especially when 45 centuries of accumulated Persian diplomacy can be effectively deployed.
Asia Times