While interesting, this post by Joe Katzman makes me want to remind people that there are different parts of the Iranian government, and only a part of it (the clerics) is especially repressive. While I'd welcome the eclipsing of the clerics as much as anything else, an Iran collapsed into chaos is a much more dangerous Iran than an Iran where the reformist government took over the reigns completely and gave the clerics an "out" that everybody could accept. Sure, it would mean that those terrorist-backing bastards in the clergy get off scott-free, but sometimes regime stability, legitimacy, and strength are worth the price of vengeance.