DoughtyOne, there are always alternatives. A very strong and immediate statement from the president placing the U.S. squarely on the side of the protesters would have been just the first step. Then there are several back-channel things we could do, such as:
--> moving arms to the Iranian opposition, like presidents Reagan and Bush 43 did in Afghanistan,
--> allowing the U.S. embassy to take in wounded protesters,
-->sending in CIA "advisors" like President Bush 43 did in Afghanistan and Iraq before sending in our troops.
Ocoward appears content issuing mealy mouthed platitudes.
There is no US Embassy in Iran.
I’m somewhat sympathetic to your views here, but Reagan didn’t put arms on the ground in Afghanistan within a few days did he? In that instance there was an armed invasion too. In Iran it’s a domestic situation.
I would also be very careful about doing something that would precipitate a new embassy hostage crisis.
In Iran you have an organized military and secret police. I believe it would be fairly difficult for us to send in CIA advisers. In Afghanistan there was a war setting, with outlying regions receptive to help, and capable of receiving that help.
I’m not convinced Iran lends itself to the exact same type of intervention on our part.