While it is good that the U.S. is opting -- for the time being at least -- for talks rather than war with Iran, it is unlikely that a democratic and independent future for Iraq will be on the agenda.

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Americans appear bent on either launching a strike or steps of covert action to create dynamics that will make it impossible to avoid waging war against Iran.

The U.S. and Israel have been actively engaged in a news media war to provoke an Iranian reaction that would justify a war, or at least a military action as a prelude to war.

This military action, strongly advocated by the pro-Israeli Washington Institute for Near Studies, could either be an American or an Israeli limited strike.

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The Current Discussion: Are we witnessing a pro-regime coup in Iran? What should the world do in response? How will the election aftermath affect Iran's projection of power into the Middle East?

Street protests in Iran are both inspiring and alarming. It is always inspiring when people decide to stand up for their rights, undeterred by repression. What's alarming is that it's unclear whether what we are witnessing is a mere power struggle or a popular movement for change.

By change, I mean that the protesters would succeed in forcing the highest echelon of power to concede to a more transparent and more open system - one that allows wider diversity of views and political movements.

It may be too much to expect that the current protests would end the era of Wilayat Al Faiqih, the supremacy of religious authority over Iranian politics and society. But if the protests evolve into a more organized movement, they will accomplish the long-standing demands of the more progressive reformists for an end to the monopoly of a tiny group of religious and social elite on political and economic decision-making.

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