Iran's Blame Game Iran's Blame Game

New York Post: IRAN'S BLAME BATTLE By AMIR TAHERI points out that the Iranian economy is right now in free fall. It talks about two different economic models favored by the rulers in Iraq: one patterned after China, and the other after North Korea. Not surprisingly, the North Korean one is considered more pure and desirable by the rulers of Iran right now.

Vali Nasr in "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future" pointed out that Shia Islam under Ayatollah Khomeini moved significantly in the direction of communism, while Sunni Islam moved towards the Nazi or Fascist brand of socialism. Both, of course, are destined for failure. But the Iranian form seems to be failing faster, as communism has a greater emphasis on equality of result than does Naziism/ Fascism.

Again though, we see some of the benefits of overthrowing Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi economy is on fire, and the Iranians next door are watching their oil run out and their incomes plummet. No wonder the pressure on the Iranian government continues to build. The proud Persians can remember when they were the ones with the booming economy, and the Arabs next door were dirt poor (well, many still are there, just fewer every year).