Understanding Iran
Mike Walker, Col. USMC (ret)
Iran is hurting under maximum sanctions and does not know what to do.
The United States is waging a form of asymmetrical warfare that the mullahs cannot figure out and it is driving them crazy.
The mullahs are lashing out hoping to provoke a military response to free them to strike back and rebalance the pain but we have not risen to the bait.
Below was sent this back in June. Perhaps it is worth resending:
All,
Fundamentals in understanding the Islamic Republic of Iran:
(1) Iran is a revolutionary state.
It will remain so until the generation that participated in the revolution pass away, in other words, not for decades...
...or if they fall from power, a highly unlikely outcome since the Green Movement was crushed in 2009.
(2) Iran is a theocracy with everything that implies.
Its theocratic underpinning imbue the Iranian regime with the immensely strong (and dangerous) conviction that they are doing Allah's will.
That is why the mullahs call the Unites States "the Great Satan."
(3) Taken together that means several important things:
The Islamic Republic wants no part of the current world order.
Its goal remains revolutionary: To destroy the current world order...
... and that means from its first day of existence the United States has been its intractable enemy -- like it or not.
The mullahs do everything in their power to bring the war to America and act against America's interests globally.
The Islamic Republic will never cease the aggressive and often violent exportation of its revolution.
It will not stop its militant and violent acts in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and everywhere in the world where it can gain a foothold.
(4) Iran sees itself at war and is desperate not to lose. Most of the world does not recognize this reality.
That means US military strikes on the Iranian homeland will be hard to contain. Iran likely will not see it as the opening of a broader war.
(5) Iran traditionally sees itself as an immensely powerful nation -- far beyond any reasoned measure.
Iranian history is replete with examples of overreach based on false assumptions of strength.
The penchant of its leaders for disastrous miscalculation is stunning.
It will be their last mistake as the United States if sufficiently provided will crush the rulers of the Islamic Republic.
Tragically, the cost for everyone -- especially Iran -- will far exceed the expectations.
