[Alberta's Child]

Dear Mr. Ledeen:

I think it's long past time for the U.S. to stop relying on think-tank jack@sses for their advice in matters related to foreign policy and military force. But thanks for your input anyway.

Sincerely,

Alberta's Child

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

These comments are interesting:

"The pessimism is as bizarre as it is discouraging. We empowered a successful revolution in the Soviet Empire with the active support of a very small percentage of the population. How hard can it be for a revolution to succeed in Iran, where more than 70% of the people want it? Our experience with Soviet Communism suggests that revolution can triumph under harsh repression, and that there are often dynamic democratic revolutionaries even if we cannot always see them. Indeed, I suspect that in Iran there are many potential leaders, some of whom are in prison while others are underground. I also suspect that there has been a lot of planning, both for the revolution itself, and for the shape of the free society thereafter. This was the case in many of the Soviet satellites--Poland and Czechoslovakia being prime examples--and is certainly ongoing in the Iranian diaspora, whether in the United States or in Europe. It would be surprising if Iranian democrats were not doing the same."

Take a page from Ronald Reagan's book during the 80s. Just Do it.