September 2007
The Iranian Time Bomb
Iran has now taken its rightful place at the center of our debate on the war. Hardly a day goes by without new revelations about Iran's penetration of Iraq either by supplying weapons, money, guidance, and intelligence to both Sunni and Shiite terrorists, or, in some cases, sending soldiers from the Quds Force--an elite unit within Iran's Revolutionary Guard--to confront American and Iraqi forces. And in the background we hear the leitmotif of the Iranian nuclear program, which continues apace despite international sanctions and negotiations.
An intensified debate has resulted: Is our current strategy adequate? Should we be more vigorous in confronting the Islamic Republic or should we--as under secretary of state for political affairs R. Nicholas Burns has recently argued--continue to use diplomacy as the primary component of our Iran policy? If we decide to take more active measures, what should they be?
In his latest book, The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots' Quest for Destruction (St. Martin's Press, September 2007), AEI Freedom Scholar Michael A. Ledeen reviews the history of Iran's long-standing war against the West and discusses American policy toward Iran from the fall of the shah to the present. He analyzes the Iranian regime's treatment of its own citizens, presents a detailed assessment of the mullahs' vision of the future, and proposes an effective strategy for thwarting their global ambitions.
Former CIA director R. James Woolsey and Clifford D. May of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, joined Ledeen in discussing these and other questions upon which so much of America's future depends.
Michael A. Ledeen
AEI
The Iranian Time Bomb: the Mullah Zealots' Quest for Destruction gives an overview on Iran, its totalitarian regime, and the secret war that it has been waging against the United States over the past thirty years. Iran and its ruling clerical mullahs want Islamic sharia law implemented all over the world, and the regime supports terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and al Qaeda. The U.S military is aware of Iranian support for terrorism and the fact that some politicians, scholars, and other prominent figures continue to downplay Iran's involvement with terrorist groups. Iran, ruled by and mostly populated by Shiites, has supported Sunni terrorists--especially in Iraq--disproving the notion that Sunnis and Shiites cannot work together. Every U.S. president from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush has attempted to reach a "grand deal" with Iran in hopes of avoiding conflict. This strategy, however, has proven unsuccessful, since Iran has been continually attacking the U.S. and its citizens for nearly thirty years.
The best way to ensure security for America is to support nonviolent democratic regime change in Iran. This could be done by supporting dissident groups monetarily or by openly acknowledging and backing the groups during demonstrations. This tactic worked during the cold war in relation to the Soviet Union, and it can work just as well in Iran. Nonviolent regime change remains preferable to bombing Iran or accepting a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic.
Clifford D. May
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
No one can doubt that this current regime is despotic, cruel, and theocratic. The leftists and the bazaari (or merchant class) in Iran at the time of the revolution thought that Khomeini would be an improvement over the shah. This proved to be a grave misjudgment on their part.
R. James Woolsey
Former Central Intelligence Agency director
The former Soviet Union was probably an easier strategic challenge for the United States than Islamic totalitarianism, because of the greater economic strength of Iran today. This viability is due to Iran's petroleum wealth, the passion Islamists have for their beliefs (compared to a lack of fervency among communists), and the lack of alternative sources of political power in Iran to challenge the mullahs' regime.
AEI intern Anthony Lizan prepared this summary.
