What source gives the Mullahs of Iran their power? Why do people get hooked on heroin, alcohol, tobacco? Why do people give their life savings to obvious scumbags? Why do people play the lottery with 1:10000000 odds? Why do people with stable families cheat on their spouses?

General answer: basic human weakness

Specific answer: greed, stupidity, lust, fear, brain chemistry, religion

There was a very basic reason why the American founding fathers separated Church and State in the Constitution. They knew from direct experience that religion represented a human weakness as basic as drug addiction. As we all know, a skilled liar can lead even the most intelligent people to ruin if he can appeal to their religion. The Iranian mullahs are amongst the most skilled liars on the planet. Their religious training practically indoctrinates them in the art of lying to the masses. This harsh truth is why I am very skeptical about the optimistic comments concerning an Iranian counter-revolution against the mullahs. This is like organizing a counter revolution of heroin addicts against their pushers. The only way a theocracy falls is after the "holy men" bring the country into total ruin. Only when the people are faced with certain death will they begin to entertain the idea that maybe just maybe their holy men are a bunch of cynical scumbags. If you doubt this then look at the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Sultan was also the Caliph. Through theocracy, the Ottomans had the Islamic world by the throat. The Turkish sultans engaged in total misrule for centuries. Their empire stood until it became such a dried out desicated corpse that it just collapsed into dust from its own weight. What a terrible commentary on human intelligence!!

Gary