Deterence & Thanks for update

Submitted by John in Michigan, USA (United States), Feb 5, 2013 at 11:56

Thanks for the update. I agree that, as Dr. Pipes wrote, "It is a mistake to think that the Iranian leadership is immune to normal considerations of deterrence". There is clearly an apocalyptic faction within the regime, but no regime would have manged to stay in power this long without having a (dare I say?) "realist" faction with an instinct for self-preservation.

Additional evidence can be seen from the 2009-10 Green uprising, in which the regular military made it clear they would not turn on their own people (the IRGC, Basij, and most police had no such inhibitions). This type of internal regime split is precisely the split that Sofaer sees when he says, "confront IRGC aggression directly and negotiate with Iran." It is still possible to use Sofaer's approach today, if our current leadership only had the wit and fortitude...

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".