The Only Logical Take on Iran

Comes from Thomas P.M. Barnett, of course:

Isolation only strengthens the hard liners. Me, I would dump the whole WMD thing, reestablish ties and open trade, ending all sanctions. Then let the mullahs explain their rule to their unhappy masses.

Do you think Castro is still in power 40-plus years without our counter-productive embargo?

As for the threat of Shiite revolution, where has it yielded the puppet state?

We support Sunni autocracies the region over and then are surprised when oppressed Shiite minorities look to Tehran.

But here's the real issue: Shiites are nationalists. The radical Salafi movement is exclusively Sunni. Why conflate them? When Shiites come to power in Arab countries, I live in little fear that Persians will be their masters. That's like saying the Poles couldn't wait to be ruled by Russians. I think that one is overblown and poorly understood in the West.