Who Is Mir Hossein Mousavi?

Cast As An Outsider, Others See Candidate As An Iranian Establishment Figure

(CBS)  His supporters may have taken to the streets - even died for his cause. But Mir Hossein Mousavi is neither a champion of democracy as we know it, nor an advocate of great change within Iran's Mullah-dominated government.

"He's not a secular intellectual in the molds of Western intellectuals," said Baqer Moin, an Iranian commentator. "No, he's coming from within the revolution."

In fact he was part of the revolution, a supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini when he came to power in 1979 - a government minister during the Revolution's turbulent early years.

"Then he became prime minister and was prime minister for nearly eight years," Moin said.

"Very much an establishment figure," asked CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

"Absolutely," Moin said.

Even if Mousavi came to power, the change he represents is more of tone than policy.

He may not deny the Holocaust, but he has made no promise to end Iran's support for the militants in Hezbollah or Hamas on Israel's borders.

And while he might be prepared to talk about it, he too is committed to Iran's nuclear program.

"He's a moderate, he's a pragmatist moderate," Moin said.

"In the Iranian context," Phillips said.

"In the Iranian context, absolutely," Moin said. "The Iranian system in not democracy nor a theocracy - it's a mixture of both."

The Iranian system, with the electorate at the bottom and the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, at the top - is a complicated, overlapping cocktail of religion and politics that no president could easily change - even if he wanted to.


IranWatch: Track the latest on the Iran election upheaval


Voters elect a 290-member parliament, a president and an Assembly of Experts, 86 "virtuous and learned" religious scholars who select the Supreme Leader.

But layered on top of this is a 12-man, extremely powerful, Guardian Council appointed largely by the Supreme Leader. It gets to decide who even runs for the presidency or parliament.

To that add an Expediency Council, appointed by the Supreme Leader, which is supposed to mediate disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council.

Whether they are demonstrating inside Iran or outside of it, supporters of Mousavi see him less as a counter revolutionary figure and more of a reformer. To them, he's become the acceptable face of the Iranian Revolution - one they're not ready to give up on yet.

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This graphic shows the structure of the Iranian government.

(CBS)

[wyodutch]

He's certainly snookered the American media and public into believing he's the reincarnation of Patrick Henry.
.
Can't we just this once... keep our meddling nose out of Iran's internal affairs? Didn't we learn anything at all from our role in killing Iranian democracy back in 1952?

[PacificGatePost]

The mullahs may have long feared that change would eventually come in reaction to their abuse of the population. Many have moved the proceeds of their pilfering offshore, ?just in case.? Some have built themselves Los Angeles and West Vancouver mansions, in anticipation that the gun might eventually not suppress the crowds in Tehran.

The potential for change is directly conditional on the persistence and endurance of the youth filling the streets of Iran. It will be unstoppable if the demonstrations move to the poorer rural regions of the country.

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-dawn-for-iran.html

This genie is out of the bottle. Change may be slow in coming, nevertheless, it will come.

[spaceatoms]

And why do all there names question who is sane? They are a race of crazy people!

[spaceatoms]

who is whosane? This is typical media stuff asking a question with a question!

[curiously1]

The problem is Islam. I wish it would have come with a label: "Warning, only intended to be practiced at home. Do Not run a country with this" !

[Sloughfoot]

Many observers see this spat in Iran for what it really is, a jilted politician provoking violence in the streets of Iran because he is a sore loser. It is not about Freedom, for in a Theocratic Nation Freedom does not and can not exist. Show me just one Nation in the history of the World where a Theocratic Nation was Free. Freedom is not so much what you have but what you allow others to have. Freedoms very first priciple is: Free from fear of reprisal. With that established all others are a walk in the park.

[bajajohn1]

Iran is not a democracy. People vote but apparently their vote means nothing. Iran is a theocratic oligarchy. Run by misfits who believe they are little Gods. Apparently they have layers of little Gods who will direct the lives of the innocent by suppressing their hopes and repressing their dreams of freedom.

[FauxNews]

This whole thing smells like another CIA job at destabilizing a country?ummm?of course, I mean that in a nice way?good jobs guys :)

[gravyboat3000]

by gulliberal June 18, 2009 5:13 PM PDT
Maybe the protesters are realizing if Iran doesn't take a step backward on its intent to "wipe Israel off the map", they might be caught up in a shi'ite storm of bombings kindly provided by the IDF...contrary to popular libtard-hate-America media outlets, many Iranians like the West...

________

LMMFAO! So, it's the left that wants Americans to think Iranians hate Americans?

Again, LMMFAO~ROLF!

[-Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-]

Man, these guys really know how to 'revolution.'

Take heed, teabaggers.

[gravyboat3000]

Hey, CBS. If you could work Catherine Zeta Jones into ALL your adds, you'd have a lot more traffic here, just sayin...

[gravyboat3000]

"HOPIE...CHANGIE!"

lmao

This from the self professed, "educated", one?

hehehe

[curiously1]

It really isn't about the characters. What matters is people's sheer determination to fight injustice. This Mousavi guy may turn out to be another puppet, but again, what matters is the common folks have spoken. The government is scared.

[skyk-2009]

Who wins this election matters little as long as they are nothing but a figure head. The President is right staying out of this, interference would help the Religious Extremist, giving them a reason to play the dispute as being between Iran and the United States.

[-Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-]

The majority of Americans? Boy, those tea parties really got his attention.