Relations between Iran and the United States have been unstable for decades.
Iran has been indirectly involved in numerous terrorist activities.
And the U.S. has intervened in Iranian affairs.
Following 911 attacks, Iran quietly offered support for U.S. military action in Afghanistan. In a historic gesture, then Secretary of State Colin Powell shook hands with Iran’s foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi at U.N. headquarters.
It seemed as though the animosity between the countries might end.
However, on January 29, 2002, relations began to sour again.
In his State of the Union address, GWB said that Iran and its “terrorist allies” are part of “an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.”
Two days later, then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice announced, “Iran’s direct support of regional and global terrorism and its aggressive efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, belie any good intentions it displayed in the days after the world’s worst terrorist attacks in history”.
Iran’s government is an Islamic theocratic democracy; yet, in many ways, it resembles the U.S. government. Both have an executive branch headed by an elected president, a legislative branch and a powerful judiciary.
Of course, there are also many differences.
Iran’s Supreme Leader is in charge of outlining and supervising “the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He is the commander-in-chief of the military, and controls intelligence and security forces. He has the authority to appoint and dismiss judiciary leaders, radio and television network leaders, and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. He can even deny candidates from running for office.
The President is under the Supreme Leader. Though this person occupies a high public profile, his power is limited by Iran’s constitution. For instance, unlike the U.S., Iran’s president is not in charge of the executive branch of the government (the Supreme Leader is). His main responsibility is setting the economic policies of the country.
Other branches of the government include the Parliament (similar to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives), Assembly of Experts (comprised of “virtuous and learned” clerics), Council of Guardians (determines if laws passed by Parliament are compatible with the constitution and Islamic law), the judiciary (similar to the U.S. judicial branch) and the National Security and Intelligence (comprised of the Supreme National Security Council, the army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security).
Often, disputes between the Parliament and the Council of Guardians reach the point of stalemate. To combat this, in 1988, Khomeini created the Expediency Council.
Its purpose is to mediate disagreements between the two branches of government.
Na kraju, citiram misljenje 'strucnjaka' za demokratska drustva:
"In his 2002 State of the Union address, GWB called for a reform of the Expediency Council.
He denounced this body as the “unelected few” who repress those with democratic aspirations."
Postoji li mozda razlika izmedju "Expediency Council-a" i Cheneyevog "Energy Task Force-a"?