Word: macleods
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Iran's World Cup soccer defeat of the U.S. may have helped the campaign by that country's moderate president, Mohammed Khatami, for liberalization and reconciliation with Washington. TIME Middle East bureau chief Scott MacLeod, in Tehran for the game, predicted that an Iran victory would create discomfort for Khatami's conservative foes by prompting massive demonstrations and by showing the "Great Satan" as fair players and gracious losers. While the country's conservative spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, sought to spin it as a "bitter defeat" for the "arrogant opponent," the fact that it was celebrated on the streets...
...victory that would produce another outburst like the one that happened when Iran qualified to go to France. "Men and women together in the streets celebrating and having fun horrified the conservative leadership, but there was nothing they could do about it," says TIME Middle East bureau chief Scott MacLeod. When Iran got the World Cup invite, there were eight-hour demonstrations in the major cities. Says MacLeod, "If Iran defeats the U.S. the same thing will happen again...
...look at the big picture. An Iranian soccer victory would help President Khatami's efforts to reconcile with the West. Says MacLeod: "If Iran wins it'll show Iranians that America is not the 'Great Satan,' especially when they see the Americans shaking hands with them after being defeated." A sound case for the favored Americans to throw the game? Perhaps, but losing to a traditional enemy might be a little hard for Americans to swallow. So perhaps the growing rapprochement between Washington and Tehran would be best served by a well-fought draw...
...demonstration by 4,000 students, the country's conservative leadership sought to defuse a mounting crisis by releasing Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi on bail. "The arrest of Karbaschi, a key moderate, was a direct challenge to the authority of President Khatami," says TIME Middle East bureau chief Scott MacLeod. "But the public backlash caught the conservatives off guard...
...even Khatami wanted the situation cooled down, notes MacLeod. "The moderates know they'd lose any direct confrontation with the conservatives, who control the police and military. Yesterday's pro-Karbaschi demonstration went ahead even though Khatami urged its cancellation. He wants to move slowly, building public support to outflank the conservatives in the 2000 legislative elections." Still, with Karbaschi's trial scheduled to start in two weeks, the conservative offensive isn't over...