paper Maariv when targeting Palestinians, and publicized globally by the American army in Iraq -- was distributed. See CounterPunch , 18 November 2005. [12] During the recent crisis, several Syrian opposition groups offered the Assad regime a deal: a national government to defend the country against the West, followed by elections in which the Ba'ath Party would be a major player. The Ba'ath High Command turned it down, preferring to rely on repression at home and manoeuvring abroad. [13] Reuel Marc Gerecht, ex- cia Middle-East chief, had a similar view. In an essay that begins: 'The January 30 elections in Iraq will be easily the most consequential event in Arab history since Israel's six-day defeat of Gamal Abdel Nasser's alliance in 1967', Gerecht concludes: 'Continue to pray every night for the health, well-being and influence of Grand Ayatollah Sistani [sic] . . . It is a blessed thing that Sistani and his followers have a far better understanding of modern Middle Eastern history than the American or European liberals.' 'Birth of a Democracy' in Gary Rosen, ed., The Right War? The Conservative Debate on Iraq , Cambridge 2005, pp. 237, 243. [14] For a hostile account from the Left, see Iran Bulletin -- Middle East Forum , series ii , no. 3, December 2005. For a cinematic examination of the class polarization in Iran see Jafar Panahi's Crimson Gold (2003), scripted by Abbas Kiarostami -- the film was banned by the Khatami government. Will Panahi's latest offering, Offside -- about