Iran is more advanced in so many ways than Iraq. If we target just their military, remove the ayatollahs, I think the Iranians can handle the rest. If they install a secular government we can guarantee their security...right Iraq and Saudi Arabia? But only for a limited time.
Originally Posted by the_real_Barleycorn
not necessarily. unlike Iraq, Iran is a more modern culture where there is a higher living standard. Hussein controlled that and kept the masses in basic poverty and more isolated. Iran is different. many young people know full well about the "decadent" west and they like it. they want Levis and pop music. they have means. they are more prosperous.
in Iran the religious situation is not so polarized. while in total control, there is no oppressed faction like Iraq so once you take out the leadership the people are more open to a non-religion based government. a more democratic form. there is no guarantee of that but it is far more likely to happen in Iran than Iraq.
we don't need to invade Iran so we don't have to occupy the country. we can achieve the objective without it and then who cares what they do next, as long as they don't revert right back to a religious fanatical regime. and if they do .. we fuck 'em up again. sooner or later the masses will turn against the religious fanatics .. if there are any left.
this has nearly happened on its own in Iran. with the fanatics out of the way i.e. dead there is a far greater chance the people will force a new direction away from the current system. their military also could facilitate such a change, after they get their asses handed to them and the top Generals, like the religious leaders, are dead. More moderate leaders can emerge.
Originally Posted by The_Waco_Kid
Gentlemen, I think you're far too optimistic. This is likely to backfire, and create popular support for the Supreme Leader and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Moderate Iranian politicians supported the 2015 nuclear deal, and we're pulling the rug out from under them. Take a look at this article by Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, an Iranian scholar at Texas A&M who wrote Religious Statecraft: The Politics of Islam in Iran:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/o...sanctions.html
This and a documentary on Mossad that's running on Netflix, where a couple of Israeli intelligence agents support the deal with Iran, lead me to believe that Obama's Iranian policy was superior to Trump's.
Still, I applaud Trump for calling off the attacks last week, against the calls of many Democrats and Republicans, and most of his advisers. He's trying to use sanctions and threats to try to force them to improve their behavior. He rolled the dice and he's probably going to lose.
These are just instinctive thoughts. I wouldn't post this in Hankering's thread because I'd get my ass kicked by people who know a lot more about this than I do.