24 January 2007
Invade, Embargo, Subvert
Effecting change in Iran’s political system could benefit the U.S. by reducing Iran’s support for hostile actions against Israel and excising its nuclear weapons development program. It appears that the elite in Iran agree with these objectives, but they are hesitant to foment an overthrow of the fundamentalist Islamic regime. That regime has formidable ideological control of the majority of Iran’s public, and the elite are too worn down by centuries of repression at the hands of despotic monarchs, propped up by foreign powers (including the U.S.), to assume responsibility for establishing a more democratic government.
In this situation, America is left with three options:
• Invade, a la Iraq.
• Embargo, risking the alienation of the elite, who would suffer most.
• Subvert the Islamic regime, driving the Iranian elite to establish a democratic, secular system.
The choice to subvert the Islamic regime is one that the U.S. government cannot blithely make in the world today. It is a strategy that is much better suited to private, non-governmental organizations. NGOs with abundant financial resources, provided by wealthy individuals and corporations that see their interests served by secular stability in the Middle East, can be the foil from behind which Western civilization extends the liberal values that it believes will secure its well-being.
Effecting change in Iran’s political system could benefit the U.S. by reducing Iran’s support for hostile actions against Israel and excising its nuclear weapons development program. It appears that the elite in Iran agree with these objectives, but they are hesitant to foment an overthrow of the fundamentalist Islamic regime. That regime has formidable ideological control of the majority of Iran’s public, and the elite are too worn down by centuries of repression at the hands of despotic monarchs, propped up by foreign powers (including the U.S.), to assume responsibility for establishing a more democratic government.
In this situation, America is left with three options:
• Invade, a la Iraq.
• Embargo, risking the alienation of the elite, who would suffer most.
• Subvert the Islamic regime, driving the Iranian elite to establish a democratic, secular system.
The choice to subvert the Islamic regime is one that the U.S. government cannot blithely make in the world today. It is a strategy that is much better suited to private, non-governmental organizations. NGOs with abundant financial resources, provided by wealthy individuals and corporations that see their interests served by secular stability in the Middle East, can be the foil from behind which Western civilization extends the liberal values that it believes will secure its well-being.
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