News Flash!!! "You can't find Moderates in the Islamic Republic, Gate Says"

Washinton Post: Gates has repeatedly criticized Iranian involvement in providing weapons to fighters in Iraq, including roadside "explosively formed projectiles" -- considered one of the most lethal munitions used against U.S. troops.

Drawing on a Cold War analogy, Gates recalled how he and then-national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski met with Iranian leaders in November 1979 with an offer of diplomatic recognition -- only to be met with Iranian demands that they hand over the shah. Three days later, he said, 66 Americans were seized at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

"The American search for elusive Iranian 'moderates' is a recurring -- and mostly fruitless -- theme since the revolution in 1979," he said.

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"Intelligence Brief: U.S. Moves to Regain Leverage over Iran"

A brilliant analysis of our Iran's strategy by PINR. This strategy is working and we don't need the Democrats to undermine it.

Here are some excerpts:

(snip)

These moves are clearly attempts to change perceptions that the United States is in a position of weakness and that it is unwilling to further embroil itself in conflict. Eliminating this perception is critical for the United States in order to regain geopolitical influence in the Middle East. Perceptions of U.S. weakness -- which PINR has warned of since 2003 -- were recently confirmed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. On January 15, Gates confirmed that "the Iranians clearly believe that we are tied down in Iraq, that they have the initiative, that they are in a position to press us in many ways. They're doing nothing to be constructive in Iraq at this point." Gates went further, admitting, "I think that our difficulties have given them a tactical opportunity in the short term…" Gates, however, added that "the United States is a very powerful country." This caveat is a military reality that Iran must carefully take into account. While the United States is reluctant to further embroil itself in conflict, it retains the ability to attack Iran. In fact, it is possible that Washington's latest moves are in preparation for a strike on Iran, even if such a course of action would not be in the interests of the United States.

Nevertheless, even if the United States did not achieve its objectives in an attack -- such as ending Iran's nuclear research program permanently and eliminating its influence in Iraq -- it would prove detrimental to Iran's regional ambitions. For this reason, Iran will make efforts to avoid this outcome and it is here where the United States retains the most leverage. Indeed, there are reports that forces within the Iranian government are pressuring President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tone down his aggressive posture so as not to invite a U.S. or Israeli attack.

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