US eyes pressing Internal Revolution in Iran

Washington Post ^ | 5/26/03 | Washington Post

[freedom44]

The Bush administration, alarmed by intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda operatives in Iran had a role in the May 12 suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, has suspended once-promising contacts with Iran and appears ready to embrace an aggressive policy of trying to destabilize the Iranian government, administration officials said.

Senior Bush administration officials will meet Tuesday at the White House to discuss the evolving strategy toward the Islamic republic, with Pentagon officials pressing hard for public and private actions that they believe could lead to the toppling of the government through a popular uprising, officials said.

The State Department, which had encouraged some form of engagement with the Iranians, appears inclined to accept such a policy, especially if Iran does not take any visible steps to deal with the suspected al Qaeda operatives before Tuesday, officials said. But State Department officials are concerned that the level of popular discontent there is much lower than Pentagon officials believe, leading to the possibility that U.S. efforts could ultimately discredit reformers in Iran.

In any case, the Saudi Arabia bombings have ended the tentative signs of engagement between Iran and the United States that had emerged during the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq.

[goldstategop]

This is a no-brainer - we should support to the hilt pro-democracy forces in Iran and tell any one in State who opposes such efforts to lend them assistance to get the hell out of Dodge.

[freedom44]

This Thursday a very important decision on foreign policy in Iran will be made.

on or off iran ping

[Cicero]

As usual, the State Department wants to negotiate with the terrorists. But it looks to me as if the Bush administration may have decided to focus on Iran next, instead of Syria, and the weenies at State understand that.

If Bush follows his usual policy, he will crank up the pressure, wait until the American people are champing at the bit to go after Iran, and then let go.

The Washington ComPost is a favorite place for deliberate leaks, even more so now that the New York Times has lost the respect of rational readers.

[jd777]

the state department doesn't like democracy in the middle east, it might offend their good friends the SAUDIS.

[vbmoneyspender]

"We're headed down the same path of the last 20 years," one State Department official said. "An inflexible, unimaginative policy of just say no."

Can you believe this quote? In response though, I would point out that our military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq were quite imaginative and extraordinarily flexible.

[Bernard]

For the State Department, at least, the best policy would be to terminate the employment of anybody who worked there before 1/20/01. These people are obstructionist at best. This is the group Newt was talking about earlier.

[Admin Moderator]

When posting Washington post material, keep excerpt to 4 paragraphs max. Thanks.

[Prodigal Son]

One dynamic that we are facing in the future...

As our military capability relative to that of other nations increases, we will (we already are actually) become for all intents- Invincible.

There are serious implications to this. The whole point to diplomacy is that in almost every case it is better to come to a peaceful "understanding" than to go to war. War, to this point in history has almost always been viewed as the "last option".

What happens when a country reaches a level where War is cheaper than Diplomacy?

I posit that we are practically at that level now (depending upon the region in question). Few have cottoned to this fact. In the Middle East, particularly in the case of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria, War is an easier option than Diplomacy. It is no longer a rational assumption that a nation with the power of the US should go through a decade of diplomatic machinations that do not serve our purpose when we can simply use our might to remake the problem in our favour.

This is something to think about... We can bend the reality of the world to our whim and at our whim. It becomes increasingly more rational to do that than to futz about with arcane diplomatic foundations and conventions. You don't have to worry about rocking the boat when you can simply part the sea...

[telebob]

The mullahs can consider this the shot across the bow. They now have the option to continue course or come to a stop. Same goes for the State Department.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[Screaming_Gerbil]

Well, in some cases, diplomacy doesn't work.

We have finally gotten to the point in history where terrorism in our country, of the sort Israel is experiencing and worse, is a possibility in our near term future.

There is no real way we are going to be able to stop that sort of terrorism from happening in our country. The politicians won't deport all the followers of Islam / people from Mideastern countries - and they won't let everyone go about armed all the time either.

The third possibility is a police state with a soldier on every corner and anyone who complains about the loss of freedoms gets thrown in jail for being a suspected terrorist.

That might be good for the perceived security of the ruling elite in this country, but that would probably bad for the economy and the morale of the people - plus they may very well have to be to put down a lot of domestic dissent if they do that.

So there's no solution to the problem that we can apply in our country that looks real good.

However, if any future terrorist attack ticks us off enough, we can overthrow the ruling elite in any particular country that we target - and it looks to me that's probably the option that our ruling elite has chosen to go with.

I think our power to influence world politics by force is a good thing.

[Prodigal Son]

However, if any future terrorist attack ticks us off enough, we can overthrow the ruling elite in any particular country that we target - and it looks to me that's probably the option that our ruling elite has chosen to go with.

It's the sensible thing to do.

But my contention goes further. In the near future, debates and problems that would have always been within the realm of diplomacy (because the use of force to solve such problems would've been unthinkable) will fall within the realm of war because war is becoming a cheaper option to us than diplomacy.

In other words, in the near future, it won't be simply acts of terrorism that prompt us to move the aircraft carrier groups...

[Stultis]

State Department officials are concerned that the level of popular discontent there is much lower than Pentagon officials believe

Typical. [rolling eyes]

[gcruse]

Debka called this two days ago. Maybe they're not totally unreliable.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Iran Student Poll: 91.4% against Islamic Republic's current constitution

Ya'alon: Good chance of internal revolution in Iran

Most Iranians openly calling for American help in Iran.

General Strike Set in Iran In Bid To Topple Mullahs

IRAN: God Wills It, But The People Don't Want It (Iranian youths calling Bush "the messiah")