I agree with those who say we ought to do something before the Pharaohs of Teheran get their nukes. I also admire the brave Iranian democracy proponents, and am continually disappointed that they have been able to make no progress in the several years that I’ve been observing their struggle from afar. It is very difficult to overthrow a modern authoritarian government, master of the instruments of repression.

However, the Mullahs are in power because the Iranian people put them in power and their consent, active or tacit, continues to let the Mullahs retain power. Short of war there does not seem to be any way of unseating the Pharaohs of Teheran and their chosen face to the world, their sockpuppet Ahmedinejad, or even of restraining their ferocity. There is no stomach in the US for trying to bring liberty to any more Muslims, not after the savage resistance to liberty put up by so many of them in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the American people are sick of liberating Muslims from tyranny or trying to feed them when starving and getting only bullets, EFDs, and IEDs in return. No, there would be no American occupation and presence to help Iranians transition to democracy after almost 30 years of rule by the Pharaohs. But there is little probability that we will act to overthrow the Mullahs either.

Once the Pharaohs of Teheran get their nukes and start throwing them around, overtly or through terrorists, it will be too late. We will not be able to differentiate between those Iranians who favored the Pharaohs and those who opposed them when fighting a major war initiated by the Mullahs. The pro-Pharaoh and anti-Pharaoh Iranians will be fried together. If the democracy movement wants to succeed they had better overthrow their tormenters now, as soon as possible, or they will be doomed to suffer along with the fanatics and corrupt who serve the regime.

The Iranian people must take their fates into their own hands, and not wait for the USA to do something (and there is no one else who would or could do something). Either the Iranians will overthrow the Pharaohs or they will share the fate the Mullahs bring on themselves. Choose.