I will admit that it is hard to tell. I read all those links, which you can find in my original link, so you didn't really need to "school" me on his article.




Well, I certainly won't claim to know everything about the region, but I think part of the reason Zakaria suggests a long term solution is that many Iranians aren't in that above group (see comments on Green Movement and long-term strategy). Yes, the current administration and ayatollah are, but do we want to make the modern Iranians hate us for a decade delay in the inevitable? I'm honestly curious, how do you see us delaying them forever? Repeat strikes for the rest of time?



And we all end up in the cycle of hate for centuries. If more of them see us as the devil, more of them are willing to help the administration against us, rather than to fight against a government that doesn't represent their position. When does it stop? Doesn't it make sense to try for the long-term and see if we can live past the crazies? And I don't play the blame game, but we're not completely innocent in the way they got to such an effed up state in the first place. I think some attempts at reform are more necessary than more wars.



So you think that means other Islamic states would suddenly demand access to these bombs if Iran has them?



Which ones? That's not simple disbelief of your claim, but rather that I'd like you to link me to something I can read here, if you have anything close to mind.