Amir Taheri who writes in the New York Post makes a very good point today: president Obama and the USA really have a failed policy on Iran. What is it that we are trying to accomplish? Taheri correctly says that the Obama goal is to have the Iranian government change its behavior. Stop building nuclear weapons, stop supporting terrorists, stop fomenting uprisings in nearby countries, stop threatening the extinction of Israel, etc. The goal of change of behavior has been the position of the United States regarding Iran since the hostages were first taken during the Carter presidency. Carter's response was to impose sanctions on Iran. After that, George H. W. Bush imposed sanctions, Bill Clinton imposed sanctions, George W. Bush imposed sanctions, and now Obama has imposed sanctions. Nevertheless, Iran has not changed its behavior. In other words, the current Obama policy on Iran is one which has been a failure for more than 30 years.
The is an alternative policy which might, however, have success: regime change in Iran. We already know that the Iranian government is not very popular with the average Iranian. Two years ago, there were mass protests in the streets of Teheran and elsewhere when the mullahs stole the election for president. At the time, Obama did nothing, not even making a statement in support of the protesters for democracy. There is much, however, that could be done. Were the USA to actively work to undermine the mullahs and their regime, we might soon see more efforts coming from the Iranian government aimed at shoring up its domestic position and fewer foreign adventures. Indeed, if we could actually bring about the demise of Iranian theocracy the world would be a much safer and more peaceful place.
Of course, any change in policy in Iran would required Obama to admit that his prior positions were wrong. In other words, it is unlikely to happen. Too bad!
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