just a couple of points to your comments alex...
the contry of iran, or persia as it was known before the pahlavi shah renamed it, had a monarchy for a couple of eons. as most countries who had monarchies did, persia wanted to toss the suckers out and institute a representitive government who were elected by the people.
as you mentioned, the representitive government didn't want to adhere to the ridiculous oil contracts the british had imposed, and that's when the british (with the cia's help) threw out the elected government and brought back the monarchy.
the monarchy were shia, just like the majority of persians. but they wanted a modern country rather than the fundamentalist backward society the mullahs wished to continue with. so it became a constant battle between the clergy and the government, which pushed the state to take more and more drastic, brutal steps against these religious zealots who opposed the "westernization" of persia.
which led to the monarchy being more and more repressive until the people wanted the shah out, allowing for the ayatollah to ride into power as the symbol of good versus the evil of the pahlavi monarchy.
so the clergy then take over, institute a theocracy, and consolidate power...which results in the clergy becoming just like the despotic shah and becoming repressive themselves, so now we have the same public frustration only instead of the monarchy being brutal and repressive it is the clergy being brutal and repressive.
amazing how it has come full circle, no?
as far a "Barrack [sic] the Absurd", the speech in cairo, you are a bit myopic. his remarks are indeed a good beginning in establishing an opening with the proverbial "arab street" (recognizing that persians are indeed not arabs...) so there is not a knee jerk negative reaction on their part to the word america. it is important to recognize a people's custom in order to establish dialogue with them, and in that society a mea culpa is how one begins the process.
the extension of his hand may not be received and in the end it could be futile, however if the hand is not extended we will never know if a change is possible. that is not acting "absurd", it is acting pragmatically.
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