The United States and the United Kingdom for two, pierce. Indeed, the entire list of English-primary nations. Look "oligarchy" up and see how much Iran resembles that definition. The mullahs and only the mullahs rule.

Cynics will yell about "The (ruling) Establishment," pointedly excluding themselves therefrom to bolster their case. Said cynics are never EVER caught running for office, much less catching one. We can safely ignore them.

I'm a cynic, I say 'The (ruling) Establishment' and the tiny, tiny percentage of the population who wield any real power or influence, runs this country of mine. I also ran for office in 2006 (and won) and will be running again in 2008.

So yet again UG, you are talking out of your anus.

Al-Qaeda faces rebellion from the ranks
"Fed up with being part of a group that cuts off a person’s face with piano wire to teach others a lesson, dozens of low-level members of al-Qaeda in Iraq are daring to become informants for the US military in a hostile Baghdad neighbourhood.

The ground-breaking move in Doura is part of a wider trend that has started in other al-Qaeda hotspots across the country and in which Sunni insurgent groups and tribal sheikhs have stood together with the coalition against the extremist movement.

“They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in Iraq and want to reconcile and have peace,” said Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which oversees the area.

The secretive group, however, appears to be losing its grip as a “surge” of US troops in the neighbourhood – part of the latest effort by President Bush to end the chaos in Iraq – has resulted in scores of fighters being killed, captured or forced to flee. "

Perhaps some positive progress from Iraq?

Sounds to me like you're in that tiny, tiny percentage -- even if it's a tiny, tiny percentage of the wielding that you're doing.

You are mistaking 'office' for power and influence, and 'establishment' for government. This is Britain, we still have people sitting in our Upper House by tradition and patronage, rather than by ballot.

We are also, like America, Anglo-Saxon in many of our cultural assumptions and so our big-business class is extremely powerful.

Every part of our country is divided into little blocks ('wards') of about 6,000 people. Each ward elects 3 councillors, to represent them in the local council. My council has 51 councillors. Sounds very ...democratic and accountable, except most areas of real local power have been removed from the Councils (or sold by Councils) and placed into unaccountable hands ('Trusts', 'Academies', 'Primary Care Trusts', Housing Associations').

The Ruling Establishment in Britain, has always kept Englishmen convinced of the superiority of their freedoms by allowing them such local, small, expressions of community power.

Hopefully, if this sort of thing takes off Iraq will become a much safer place and the unification of fighting Al Qaeda would be very helpful. Even better is that we may go out as enemies as well.

I am hoping and praying that we start to turn the corner here - It still amazes me that the mainstream press doesn't seem to want to cover these types of things and simply prefers to keep counting the dead and beating the same old drum.

CNN has had two stories on it so far that I have found, I posted them somewhere on here, I forget where.

I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we are working with the "enemy" that has been shooting at us for the past four years, at least why Fox doesn't.

Really?? Let me know where - I missed it too.

Thanks Merc, but thats the same as MY link - Pierce had a different reference - I thought.

The logic works if Al Qaeda was some big monolithic organization in Iraq. Al Qaeda never really existed. What is called Al Qaeda (and we hear new reporters noting this as they talk about Al Qaeda) was really many independent groups with no relationship to each other but for one thing - many call themselves Al Qaeda.

Understand the philosophy in Iraq. The enemy of my enemy is my enemy. Sunnis attack Sunnis. Shia attack Sunnis. Sunnis attack Kurds. Shia attack Shia. Why give up information? It may cause the Americans to attack their enemy. Welcome to the civil war that analysts in the State Department warned of in 2002.

Sorry about that. :redface:

Uh isn't that the enemy of my FRIEND is my enemy?? OR the enemy of my enemy is my friend??

Thats why this is so interesting - these former enemies are allegedly turning against Al Q.

The Al Qaeda composition was recently discussed in a post from last week - it is true that there is no "central organization" but many of the cells/groups are loosely connected and were referred to as "franchises." Very interesting, but nothing new.

Yesman - here is the link

http://cellar.org/showpost.php?p=364017&postcount=33