Myth of the moderate Rafsanjani

Iranian blogger Hoder writes:

There is something I like about American neo-conservatives: They don't differentiate between Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran, and Ali Khamanei, the supreme leader of Iran, in terms of their involvement in various violations of human rights and accounts of corruption in Iran.

This is extremely important now, because I see many Western journalists are poised (or paid) to see Rafsanjani as a powerful moderate politician who can change Iran toward a more open and less dangerous Iran.

Most of the opposition leaders and intellectuals were murdered under Rafsanjani's watch by his own intelligence and security apparatus.

Enough to say that the Supreme leader never felt necessary to establish an intelligence organization parallel to the one run by the Khatami's government, during Rafsanjani's presidency.