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Kleptocracy vs Kakistocracy



The US administration has never shied away from depicting the Iranian regime in the worst and most diabolic forms of governments. Slurs such as the axis of evil, a terrorist-harbouring state, and a deranged theocracy are some of the synonyms of the Ayatollah regime in Iran. Most recently, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a speech in which he accused the Iranian regime of being a corrupt Kleptocracy, insinuating that the overthrow of such a corrupt system was a common dream of Americans and Iranian friends.

Not to be outdone,  Donald Trump issued a dramatic tweet in all caps and with the signature exclamation remark at the end: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

These intelligent words came after Iran's foreign minister’s meeting with Iranian diplomats, during which he elegantly indicated that America should know that "peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars". The comment was a sublime thereat to Washington, warning it against any attempt overthrow the Iranian regime.

Steamy retorts and bellicose rhetoric are not new in the US-Iranian relations. However, it is interesting to see how the pot is calling the kettle black.

Yes, Iran is an autocratic regime. And yes, it is most likely a Kleptocracy. But isn’t the Trump administration the purest form of a Kakistocracy? Both nations are run by inept, dangerous, and violent governments. Both countries pose a dangerous and direct threat to the well-being of their neighbours, and both administrations are run on the basis of vendetta, tantrums, and deep-seated and obsessive love/hate relationships with certain ideologies. Nonetheless, one of them is run by the corrupt, and the other by the unqualified. It is pretty clear which of the two is more dangerous.

The public is most likely tired of hearing such flagrant and intense rhetoric. The fact that Iran is run by a corrupt gang will not justify yet another war that no country has seen before (to use Trump’s insensitive, arrogant, and simply stupid words). By the same token, one can expect and justify international calls for an end to the Trump administration on the basis of absolute ineptness. Unqualified and corrupt figures should be banned from office, but there they are, and that is that. Employing soul-touching rhetoric to justify the overthrow of a government and a makeover of an entire regime is what one can expect from - well - a Kakistocracy.

Perhaps it would be better to go back to the Bush-era terminology, which – although equally intelligent – justified intervention in the Middle East. Fomenting terror, harbouring evilness, anti-Semitism and the like had a stronger impact on the public. Are the Americans ready to finance another war in the name of ridding Iranians from corrupt leaders? Not really.

One quote from a Trump visit to Michigan in April wraps this article nicely: 'Our laws are so corrupt and stupid'. Perhaps the administration should start from there.

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