A Look Inside Iran

Here’s an interesting look inside Iran. The Iranian establishment is increasingly worried by the actions of the president of Iran, according to John R. Bradley in the Washington Times.

Iran's clerical and business establishments, deeply concerned by what they see as reckless spending and needlessly aggressive foreign policies, are increasingly turning against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad was elected on a populist platform to root out corruption and to give priority to the needs of the poor. Is he ever!

Iran's long-term planning calls for vigorous efforts to reduce the size of government and to curb subsidies to state-owned entities, which account for an estimated 75 percent of the economy. But the Ahmadinejad budget boosts spending by 25 percent and envisions a 31 percent increase in spending on state enterprises.

We’ve seen this before. This sort of reckless expansion of the government sector to throw subsidies at the poor always ends in tears. The economic strength of a nation comes from its productive sector. And that means business enterprise not government enterprise. This isn’t too difficult to figure out, is it.

The clerical establishment has close ties with the capitalist class and is said to be appalled at the rapid slide of the economy since Mr. Ahmadinejad's inauguration. The clerics are also thought to be deeply apprehensive about the president's aggressive foreign policy.

The Iranian establishment wants the West to ease off on the confrontation with Ahmadinejad. “Let the Iranians deal with him,” they say. Then he’ll be a failure and out of power within a year.