Ahmadinejad, Neda, and the Politics of Misdirection

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered a public investigation into the death of Neda Soltan -- but don't expect a turnaround from claims that the state militia had nothing to do with it. "Interference by enemies of Iran" was among the culprits that Ahmadinejad cited, as well as "propaganda by the foreign media," and -- according to Iran's ambassador to Mexico -- maybe the CIA.

The timing of Ahmadinejad's sudden interest in Soltan's death is no coincidence, nor is it likely the result of the incumbent stumbling upon the video while browsing YouTube -- it comes just as officials finish their recount of a sample of the vote, a vote they announced on Monday remains unchanged. "From today on, the file on the presidential election has been closed," read the official statement released on Iran's state television network.

As officials know, just saying the file is closed is not enough. The Ayatollah and Iran's powerful Guardian Council both released statements last week saying that the results are final and the results are without error. Still, the protests have continued even in the face of a government crackdown.

If the protests continue, the other option the government has is to try and refocus the anger onto an external enemy or to divert attention to a new goal. The question then becomes, what enemy? Ahmadinejad's recent attempt at claiming that Barack Obama was interfering with the election and a clone of George W. Bush didn't succeed in diverting attention from electoral fraud. And the Iranian ambassador to Mexico's statement to CNN that if the CIA were involved, "choosing women is an appropriate choice, because the death of a woman draws more sympathy" pales in comparision to reports of eyewitnesses who say that her killers were members of the state militia.

Despite attempts at refocusing or diverting attention, the dissidents are unlikely to be swayed by investigative reports -- whether on electoral fraud or Neda Soltan's death -- put out by the same officials most people blame for these crimes.