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Thread: Regime change for dummies

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    Regime change for dummies

    Regime change for dummies

    Foreign Policy's Stephen Walt provides some historic examples of failure as the result of a policy of regime change.

    In my last column, I argued that U.S. President Donald Trump’s rash decision to violate the Iran nuclear deal was the first step in a new round of regime change in the Middle East. If his goal was stopping an Iranian bomb and preventing a regional arms race, the existing agreement was working just fine, and he should have been trying to make it permanent instead of gutting it. If his goal was stopping Iran’s “regional activities,” the smart strategy would have been to keep the country from going nuclear while working with others to bring Iran to heel through pressure and additional diplomacy. Instead, Trump, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are hoping that violating the Iran deal will let them re-impose sanctions on Iran. They hope this pressure will topple the Islamic Republic, or lead Iran’s own hard-liners to restart its nuclear enrichment program and provide a pretext for the preventive war that Bolton has long advocated.

    More sensible strategists might have first considered whether this goal even makes sense. What does history teach us? Did previous efforts at regime change (by the United States and by others) produce the expected benefits, or did they end up making things worse? Does regime change produce real benefits at relatively low cost, or is the price tag usually much higher than expected, while the benefits tend to be disappointing?


    The answers, in fact, are pretty obvious, as can be seen from the following brief history of regime change. (Spoiler alert: It’s almost always a very bad idea.)
    Read the rest at the link.

    I suspect that @Ransom and @Dontread will have opposing views on this OP.
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    He lost me at "violate the Iran Nuclear deal". As I understand it, we were perfectly within our rights to withdraw when we did. We violated nothing. Am I incorrect? If I am not, his bias is demonstrated from the get-go.
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    While I agree that regime change has been pretty much a failure as policy I don't think the Iran deal has anything to do with regime change. One is separate from the other. I read this as another Trump is an idiot article.
    Liberals are a clear and present danger to our nation
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    Allowing regime change in Iran was the worst mistake we ever made imho.
    Should have had an airlines accident flying the ayatollah home!

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    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    He lost me at "violate the Iran Nuclear deal". As I understand it, we were perfectly within our rights to withdraw when we did. We violated nothing. Am I incorrect? If I am not, his bias is demonstrated from the get-go.
    I don't think that Trump is seeking regime change in Iran. However, the author may think so. I was focused more on Syria and North Korea. Bolton should not have said the Libyan model.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    Regime change for dummies

    Foreign Policy's Stephen Walt provides some historic examples of failure as the result of a policy of regime change.



    Read the rest at the link.

    I suspect that @Ransom and @Dontread will have opposing views on this OP.
    Correct and clueless always have opposing views, Peter.

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    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    He lost me at "violate the Iran Nuclear deal". As I understand it, we were perfectly within our rights to withdraw when we did. We violated nothing. Am I incorrect? If I am not, his bias is demonstrated from the get-go.
    You are correct. Furthermore, the "deal" did absolutely nothing to curb Iran's nuclear aspirations.
    Cutesy Time is OVER

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