Leaderless?

Gary Sick says the scenes from Iran today look very much like those leading up to the 1979 Revolution. Massive but largely silent crowds, occasional outbursts of violence from nervous and antsy security services. The shining difference to Sick is the lack of the charismatic opposition figure that Khomeini played in 1979. This is a very illuminating analysis of the players guiding or perhaps trying to guide what’s happening in Iran. It’s Mousavi and Khamenei, with Ahmadinejad a largely ancillary passive player on the side, Sick argues. But each lacks command and charisma and both seem to be trying to keep up with rather than lead events.