Neoconservatives and their ilk believe that such the strong and aggressive stance taken by the Bush administration has lead to the erosion of support for the Islamic Republic and the recent outbreak of civil unrest, and a cacophony of anger directed at Ayatollah Khamenei. Larry Elder illustrates this delusional thought at Front Page. The article by Elder, exemplifies the disconnect with reality U.S. policy with Iran has suffered from, in addition to it serving as an excellent example of the scramble by Bush administration sycophants to conjure up some manner of usefulness for the invasion, war, and subsequent nation-building project in Iraq.

So, despite the complete destabilization of Iraq, the utter fumbling of the U.S. operation in Afghanistan, what did the U.S. get right in regards to Iran that has lead to the current juncture of a regime on the tipping point? In all honesty, we got nothing right, and it was only our inaction that saved us. It was not the former-President Bush’s saber rattling, Israeli threats of a bombing campaign, or even President Obama’s promise of engagement with the Iranian regime that lead to the internal political destabilization on display in Iran. You might just say, “It’s Iran, stupid!” It was the government of Iran, and its own political miscalculations that has brought the country to the brink of a new revolution. When you rig an election, and essentially throw many of your original supporters under the bus, you tend to churn up some discontent. And, throw in a sky rocketing unemployment rate, high inflation, and a corrupt patronage system, now you are just throwing jet fuel on the fire. Dieter Bednarz and Eric Follath have a great overview of the possible collapse of the Iranian government up at Der Spiegel, I highly recommend it.