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A Third Way to Address the Iranian Threat

(Wall Street Journal) Michael Ledeen - The example of the Arab Spring shows that seemingly secure despots can be toppled by popular will. Like the Soviet Union in its latter days, Iran's regime is hollow and detested by most of its people. The Iranian government is widely viewed within the country as corrupt and illegitimate, having stolen the 2009 elections. Most Iran watchers believe that the opposition has been crushed, but they held the same view before June 2009, when millions of Iranians took to the streets and fought for months. The opposition persists, routinely striking the regime's most valuable assets. Gas pipelines, ports and oil refineries have been sabotaged and Revolutionary Guards attacked. A source within the opposition tells me that seven Revolutionary Guard officers were ambushed and killed last month on a highway north of Tehran. Opposition leaders have told me that antiregime forces include the Greens, the trade unions and the major tribes, including Kurds, Baluch and Azeris. Supporting the Iranian opposition and overturning the Islamic regime wouldn't just be a way for the West to avoid a nuclear confrontation. It would also cut off the lifeblood for terrorist groups around the world. The writer is a scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
2013-04-18 00:00:00
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