Supreme Leader K orders review of election results by most revered Guardian Council - surprise to me? Yes, if it's legitimate - but I don't think it's legitimate - seems entirely improbable that it's anything other than a ruse to appease protesters. No doubt concerns among certain clerics of looking too much in the service of The Republican Guard - but looking somewhat compromised pales in comparison to the devils that would be unleashed should the Council attempt to overturn the results - that I believe would lead to a military coup and installation of a more accommodating Ayatollah. Hell, I don't even think it's possible to conduct an authentic review of votes - there's no such thing as an independent 'elections board' in Iran - everything is controlled by the Interior Ministry which in turn is controlled by the ruling party - there's no there there as far as legitimacy goes.
On the other hand, if Obama plans on inserting himself into this thing, now would be the time: if protests continue and gain strength the Council will come under increasing pressure to look like they are actually serious about reviewing the results and that may be hard to do - angry mobs tend to want to hear one answer and one answer only: so, if Obama jumps in and feeds those flames, gives the impression that he personally has got the back of the moderates - well, then I think you have all the ingredients necessary for a real clusterfuck.
Should be an interesting week, in a morbid kind of way. Even though in reality most likely scenario is that Iranian security services take control of the situation, Council rubber stamps results and status quo returns - I believe Obama has put himself in a difficult situation with his absurd rhetoric because eventually that talk has to count for something more substantial than making people who lack higher reasoning skills feel good. As I've said before, Obama's persona works well domestically because he has a compliant congress and press and the ignorant masses want so badly to believe that if Bush was bad then the opposite of Bush must be good - but foreign policy is an entirely different beast and the attributes that have so far served him well in America may lead him down the road to perdition in the real world outside.
update: couple of guys writing in Washington Post claim their pre-election poll showed a roughly 2 to 1 advantage for A--- which is pretty much how the real vote broke down. Does that change anything? Arguably makes it much less likely Obama gets involved; if true undoubtedly strengthens A---'s hand, although other poll questions seem to indicate those who support him have naive expectation regarding his agenda [big surprise there]; lends credence to my claim that review is simply a ruse.
