CBS News offers the following information about Mousavi.
(CBS) His supporters may have taken to the streets – even died for his cause. But Mir Hossein Mousavi is neither a champion of democracy as we know it, nor an advocate of great change within Iran’s Mullah-dominated government.
“He’s not a secular intellectual in the molds of Western intellectuals,” said Baqer Moin, an Iranian commentator. “No, he’s coming from within the revolution.”
In fact he was part of the revolution, a supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini when he came to power in 1979 – a government minister during the Revolution’s turbulent early years.
“Then he became prime minister and was prime minister for nearly eight years,” Moin said.
“Very much an establishment figure,” asked CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.
“Absolutely,” Moin said.
Even if Mousavi came to power, the change he represents is more of tone than policy.
He may not deny the Holocaust, but he has made no promise to end Iran’s support for the militants in Hezbollah or Hamas on Israel’s borders.
And while he might be prepared to talk about it, he too is committed to Iran’s nuclear program.
“He’s a moderate, he’s a pragmatist moderate,” Moin said.
I don’t know. Is he really any better than Ahmadinejad . I am not convinced and not sure what to think. You’ll forgive me for being a skeptic, but history has taught that sometimes caution is warranted.
Ahmadinejad is the devil we know. We know where he stands and what he wants. There is something to be said for that. That is not to say that it is impossible that Mousavi is better or that real reform isn’t on the horizon, but I wonder.
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