Having spent a couple of years there some time
ago, my belief is that the bullets you list are sensible and those things are achievable. We probably ought to go that route.
Lacking backhoes in large numbers, the Iraniha, like many nations, use a three man shovel with an extremely long handle and two ropes attached for deep holes. Unlike most of those nations, in Iran they use six people per shovel. Three dig and three kibitz for a few minutes, then the second three push the first three out of the way with much shouting and take over the shovel. Rotations invariably also involve trading of handle versus rope men. These rotations within rotations get repeated until it's time for tea, a multiple times per day event...
Iranian stores carry merchandise with no price tags. Haggling is the national pastime.
Point of all that is that usually its hard to tell who's actually in charge and any bilateral dealings had better be led by someone from the US with a whole lot of ME time -- and patience.
Neither attribute seems too common in the US today, Mota assa fahnay...
Economis's special report "Iran"
On July 19, Economist issued special report "Iran"
Quote:
In this special report
The revolution strikes back
Men of principle
Bombs away
The big squeeze
Only engage
The verdict of Qom
Khomeini's children
Audio interview
Sources and acknowledgements
Offer to readers
http://www.economist.com/specialrepo...ory_id=9466834
Iranian shakeup a setback for hardline leader
Iranian shakeup a setback for hardline leader - USATODAY, 5 Sep.
Quote:
Opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have assumed leadership of two of Iran's top institutions, a shakeup that reflects Western economic pressure on Iran and could lead to a less confrontational foreign policy, particularly on the nuclear issue.
On Tuesday, Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pragmatic former president who lost to Ahmadinejad in 2005 presidential elections, was elected head of the Assembly of Experts. Under Iran's political system, the 86-member body of Shiite Muslim clerics appoints Iran's supreme leader — a religious figure who outranks the president.
On Saturday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replaced the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful military organization in the country.
Taken together, the steps are a setback for Ahmadinejad, said William Samii, an Iran analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, a think tank for the U.S. Navy.
"The supreme leader has taken actions to sideline Ahmadinejad and the people associated with him," Samii said. "People are fed up with Ahmadinejad and his belligerence. The regime will try to pursue a less confrontational foreign policy ..."