A New Hitler?

Ahmadinejad is building his own high visibility into political power.

Political analysts and people close to the government here say Mr. Ahmadinejad and his allies are trying to buttress a system of conservative clerical rule that has lost credibility with the public. Their strategy hinges on trying to win concessions from the West on Iran's nuclear program and opening direct, high-level talks with the United States, while easing social restrictions, cracking down on political dissent and building a new political class from outside the clergy.

Mr. Ahmadinejad is pressing far beyond the boundaries set by other presidents. For the first time since the revolution, a president has overshadowed the nation's chief cleric, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on both domestic and international affairs.

He may be headed toward cult status like that built by bin Laden, but he'll be much more difficult to put on the run. Iran is not Afghanistan.

The article seems to miss something important, however:

The changing nature of Iran's domestic political landscape has potentially far-reaching implications for the United States. While Iran has adopted a confrontational approach toward the West, it has also signaled — however clumsily — a desire to mend relations. Though the content of Mr. Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush was widely mocked here and in Washington for its religious focus and preachy tone, it played well to Iran's most conservative religious leaders. Analysts here said it represented both Mr. Ahmadinejad's independence and his position as a messenger for the system, and that the very act of reaching out was significant.

The point of Mr. A's letter was not to be chummy, but to serve notice on the West as Mohammed once did, that they are invited to accept Islam and if they don't what comes next will be considered a just jihad under Islamic Law. I'm not impressed by the view that this "reaching out" was a positive signal.