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Would Iranians Rally 'Round the Flag?

(Los Angeles Times) Edward N. Luttwak - The argument that ruling regimes, even unpopular ones, are strengthened by outside attacks, because the bombarded nation rallies around its rulers, does not apply to Iran. Iran is a multinational empire dominated by Persians, much as the Soviet Union was once dominated by Russians. Except that in this case, the Persians only account for just over half the population of Iran (making them a smaller proportion than the Russians were in the final days of the Soviet Union). No scholar who studies Iran would dispute that there is a very strong Persian identity and pride of ownership in ruling Iran among the Persians, but only a very weak sense of Iranian participation among non-Persians. To the extent that the different nationalities each have their own identities and oppose the essentially Persian regime, they are likely to applaud external attacks on the nuclear installations rather than rally to the defense of their rulers. The writer is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
2006-02-13 00:00:00
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