But the toughest nut to crack among all these targets has always been Iran. Ironically, Iran’s strategic situation vastly improved following the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the overthrow of those regimes. By 2004, Iran’s Shiite allies in Iraq were in control of the government, even as the country was still under American occupation. Further, Iran exercised tremendous influence with Muqtada Sadr’s militia, the main Shiite opposition to the occupation in the streets.
After Bush’s second inauguration in January 2005, the National Security Council had an intense internal debate regarding Iran. The conflict did not center on whether there should be a regime change in Iran, but rather, whether to employ soft or hard power to achieve it. Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld advocated a series of escalating military strikes, while former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the use of soft power. Eventually, the president’s military advisors ended the debate when they cautioned Bush that with the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, engaging Iran militarily would be highly risky and draining for the U.S. armed forces.
>>>Person | About | Day |
---|---|---|
نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
Delusional Shah Gholam,
by Farhad Kashani on Wed Jul 01, 2009 04:47 PM PDTDelusional Shah Gholam,
The age of using propaganda tactics by making the heroic uprising of our people to look like a “conspiracy by America” has gone! Wake up!
The era of blaming America, and conspiracy theorism has ended. Citing garbage and delusional analyses from delusional people running propaganda driven websites WILL NOT SAVE YOUR BELOVED IRI REGIME.
IRIs supporters around the world are shrinking by the second. You wanna be part of that dying few, please go ahead! I insist!
the comedy of the ABSURD
by Ali Akbar (not verified) on Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:45 AM PDTESAM AL-AMIN you are obviously an agent of the IRNI...
Still you're willing to divert everyone’s attention from major trouble within Iran and focusing on the CIA and Israel and maybe the Baha’is....
If I used your logic I could blame Michael Jackson Death on secret agents from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij militias hidden in the USA and their purpose was to divert the world's attention from Iran because we all know how short sited the WEST is concerning world politics especially the USA...
And congratulations!!!
It did work!!
For the last week all the US and British networks were focused on the Death of Michael Jackson....
Iran??? Iran who??? Did something happen in Iran???