Here is an answer to the mystery!
Reader comment on item: Assessing the Iranian Election

Submitted by Saied Assef (United States), Jun 14, 2009 at 10:44

Why did Khamenei choose Ahmadinejad?

In short because he got scared of the magnitude of the Green revolution. They know that Moussavi is not what is animating the crowds. In fact Moussavi is hardly a leader worthy of the sacrifices of his supporters. What is animating the Iranian crowds now is what has been boiling under the surface for a long time THE ASPIRATION OF THE IRANIAN PEOPLE TO BE FREE.

Khamenei was initially going to play his good cop bad cop game ( ala Khatami in earlier days) to diffuse the pressure building for reform. Then something happened allong the way called the GREEN MOVEMENT. Khamenei got scared of it's magnitude and became concerned that he could not control it later if he allowed it to win now ----- hence the coup-detat of 23rd of khordad.

God bless the people of Iran. May the people of the world hear our cry from the abyss.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.