Iraian Election 2009 - would Khatami have won?

no, because the majority of Iranians are extremely religious and identify with the fundamentals of the revolution and the Islamic nature of Ahmed..... (I am not going to try to spell it).

Also Iran is still dealing with its loss in the 1980s war. And most people in the generation that voted was in some way effected by the war - whether it be by them being veterans or the wives, daughters or friends of those who fought in the war. Ahmed.... associates with these voters through his policy of creating a strong Iran, a country that bounces back from that defeat and so does not suffer in such a way again.

Therefore no matter who the reform candidate was, the rural Iranian vote would always win.

Edit - whoever neg repped me is an idiot, where do you see 'extreme majority' in my post?? Get some glasses

Oh look we have an expert on the subject...
We're pretty much over the Iraq-Iran war and 75% of our population are under 30 so most of them are much more pro-western and less extremists in their views towards Islam...
Khatami wouldn't win because he would face too much opposition that is why he didn't stand this time round and he let someone like Mousavi instead...plus if he did and it was a fair election, i.e. not rigged, it may have split the votes of the pro-reformists and someone like Ahmadinejad would have won which is similar to what happened last time round...

Oh look we have an expert on the subject...
We're pretty much over the Iraq-Iran war and 75% of our population are under 30 so most of them are much more pro-western and less extremists in their views towards Islam...
Khatami wouldn't win because he would face too much opposition that is why he didn't stand this time round and he let someone like Mousavi instead...plus if he did and it was a fair election, i.e. not rigged, it may have split the votes of the pro-reformists and someone like Ahmadinejad would have won which is similar to what happened last time round...

If Iran is over the whole Iraq war thing then how come it continues to interfere with US efforts in the region.... Why does Ahmadinejad continuously refer to the conflict - and the revolution - in his speeches..... and why did he win because of it. Just because you, your family, and your family friends might be over the Iraq war; does not mean the majority of your country is over it.

I am neither from Iran nor of Iranian descent, I am only an interested person - mainly because I believe that in 5 years time I will be on the ground as a member of the US army fighting to stop your nuclear program. Here is the link to where I got my information:
http://www.stratfor.com/sites/all/themes/stratfor_mail_html/images/logo

It is the video on the top right, the company is a private intelligence agency -- and it is pretty impartial eg if you continue to listen to it the guy will start hammering Israel (I am pro- Israel). But please tell me what you think of it - he is an expert.

Because we are bordered with Iraq and like it or not a lot of people in their government are Iranian or linked to Iran to some degree with with vested interest Iran interferes because America is right on their doorstep...plus America's scheme to destabilise Iran doesn't make exactly make Iranians more comfortable about the fact that their enemy is in the bordering country...

And just to be clear I don't think America will invade Iran and if they did it wouldn't be like Iraq or Afghanistan because the Iranian Army doesn't run around with AK-47's...
You would be so naive to think that America could invade Iran as easily and it did to Iraq or Afghanistan...

Hell no, thats why I said it would have to be five years and require Iran to be on the brink of getting a nuclear weapon. If the US invades Iran it would be a global disaster, but one ultimately brought about by your president.

And: 'doesn't make exactly make Iranians more comfortable about the fact that their enemy is in the bordering country...' is the perfect reason why people would vote Ahmad....

Plus no matter how much better your army is than Iraq's it is no match for the US army - especially one inflated by the draft and supported by numerous countries.

No it's the perfect reason for them to vote against Ahmadinjead...memories of the Iraq war are still there and no-one wants to go back to that, especially not the pro-western young population of Iran which is why they would have voted for Mousavi so instead of Iran being a pariah state, isolated from the world she can be a part of the International community and engage with other countries...

Also, Iran's army doesn't need to be a match the US army...going into Iraq based on information which were lies can only happen once...no way would any country ever back the US based on such intelligence.

Errr mate, first of all Iran would be a whole different ball game. We would have Obama, and most influential European countries believe that Ahmadinejad is trying to get nuclear weapons.

You are right that the reformists believe that by opening up to the world they would have more peace and stability - a very sensible idea. But surely other, less educated people, would take it to the other end of the spectrum - ie they have to get stronger in order to avoid fighting wars, hence they support Ahmadinejad's goal of nuclear 'energy.' If only every Iranian was like you there would be no problem!! But from the recent election result it seems like a majority of Iranians, unfortunately, are a bit more right wing. I kind of see what is happening in Iran right now, as a much, much, much lesser version of Germany in 1933 (emphasis on much lesser).

no, because the majority of Iranians are extremely religious and identify with the fundamentals of the revolution and the Islamic nature of Ahmed..... (I am not going to try to spell it).

Also Iran is still dealing with its loss in the 1980s war. And most people in the generation that voted was in some way effected by the war - whether it be by them being veterans or the wives, daughters or friends of those who fought in the war. Ahmed.... associates with these voters through his policy of creating a strong Iran, a country that bounces back from that defeat and so does not suffer in such a way again.

Therefore no matter who the reform candidate was, the rural Iranian vote would always win.

Edit - whoever neg repped me is an idiot, where do you see 'extreme majority' in my post?? Get some glasses

Be quiet.

I don't believe Khatami would have done that well, he was Preisdent for 8 years but he was largely ineffective and the people were tired of him toward the end.

Haha, all you guys keep denying what I have said. But you cannot disprove my statement, because you know that I am right. Your current president has targeted those themes over and over again, and well he one at least one election. When I said extremely I did not mean extremist I meant devout, shown by the fact that Mullahs rule your country.

Just because you are a reformist (which I applaud and respect) and your friends are reformists, and their friends/family are reformists, does not mean that the majority of Iranians - who are rural dwellers - think like you. Therefore, unfortunately, are you just a rather large minority.

I am not a reformist. A reformist seeks to reform the Islamic Republic. I disagree with the very idea of an Islamic Republic (or any dictatorship, whether by Shah or Mollah) so I don't know what you're getting at here.

And bore on, you know nothing of Iran, only 35% of Iranians live in rural areas. Looks like I just raped your "majority of Iranians are country dwellers" argument eh?

'Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures.'
You are a reformist so now you know what I am getting at.

Why are you labeling me as something when I tell you I am not that?

I don't believe in gradual changes. I don't think change is possible within the Islamic Republic as it is not designed for democracy, instead it is designed for theocratic dictatorship, read up on Velayet e Faqih for more on that. I believe a complete change and overhaul is needed, not just gradual reforms.



Bloody hell, I'm Iranian why are you talking all this **** at me?

You wrote that most Iranians live in rural areas. That is WRONG. Just plain incorrect. Your entire argument for Ahmadinejad's victory rested on that argument and it has been proven INCORRECT. So your argument fails.



I will not accept it. Nor do the millions of Iranians who are protesting, nor the hundreds who have been wounded or killed by this regime in the past few days.

First of all, you said you did know what I was saying when I said 'reformist,' you obviously do. And what would you call yourself if you are not a reformist?? You want to change the system, gradual is a subjective word.

Well unfortunately again you betray your total lack of knowledge on Iran. In Iranian politics reformist pretty much refers to the 22nd Khordad movement. I am not a supporter of Khatami, so reformist is not the right wod.



Shut up. Iranians are highly educated and cultured. We have TV and radio in Iran you know, and BOOKS So take your arrogant generalisations elsewhere, you bigot.



You don't know jack about our country, we have millions of university students, and a highly educated populace.



In fact, how dare you? Your post was so insulting it really makes me wonder if you're just an ignorant fool or a troll.

Haha, unfortunately I am more educated than yourself. Sure Iran has a minority of extremely well educated citizens, but I would bet my life it has a larger proportion of people with an extremely limited education. Your education system is no where near as good as any modern country, do not even try to argue otherwise.

As we showed the world in 1979 and today we don't suffer fools and dictators easily. You are a fascist, you are a bigoted racist who stereotypes people and won't listen to facts. You're just upset that the Iranian people are rising up against their dictators, aww diddums