- "It is, therefore, in the American interest to break with past policy and actively seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Not by invasion, which this administration would not contemplate and could not execute, but through every instrument of U.S. power, soft more than hard."
Monday, September 28, 2009
Choices
Eliot Cohen writes in Wall Street Journal today about the only two remaining options with regards to the Iranian regime:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Nice piece.
The people in power are naive and actually believe they can make people like them. When it comes to Fox News however, forget it! That's their enemy. This world is upside down and I feel like I'm falling off...
It looks like we're in a phase similar to the Cold War détente/denial of aggressive Soviet expansionism (Nixon/Ford/Carter). Naively diplomatic overtures made in an attempt to co-exist with Mafia-like regimes which have absolutely no intention of compromising whatsoever. They only see our willingness to bargain as a weakness to be taken advantage of to further their aggressive, ideologically subversive, politically repugnant, asymmetrical para-military expansion.
Which begs the question, are we in the Ford or Carter phase? And at what point will we get a scrappy, pragmatic street-fighter of a President who's willing to roll their sleeves up, take off the gloves, and beat them at their own game?
If we've learned only one thing from Reagan it's this: A bully can play by their own rules for many decades with great success, but if anyone decides to challenge them and are willing to play by the bully's own rules, they will not last even ONE decade.
Diplomacy is a noble endeavor, but it is not a panacea. Eventually, those wise enough to know the difference between "war mongering" and "necessary force" will prevail. Who and when is anybody's guess.
Steve
-California
Post a Comment