Rough-Hewn Ends

If I wanted the Iranian regime to collapse and be replaced by something better, and I was ready to expend blood and treasure to achieve this, and I wanted to make it all happen in a welter of death from above, with aircraft carriers and missiles and bunker-busting gravity bombs… I'd start 10 years ago with the seeds of insurgency, and creating a government-in-waiting, and building slowly, and by now Reza Shah would be sitting on the Peacock Throne swearing in a new democratically elected prime minister. Why hasn't this happened? Because the Iranian state is optimised to prevent exactly this. They're really, really good at repressing dissent and nipping insurgency in the bud. Good thing the Americans and the Israelis aren't actually trying to do that, because they'd be failing. I mean, we'd all cheer at that new democracy with a population of millions shrugging off the fanatical Twelver Shi’a Islamist dogma they've been schooled in from birth. The Iranians deserve freedom and prosperity same as everyone else. But that's not why this is going on. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nusbacher.substack.com/subscribe