To continue reading:
or
Log-In
The Iran Factor
The new crisis in the Middle East shows how a major consequence of Bush's disastrous foreign policy has been an emboldened Tehran
Subscriber content preview.
or
Log-In
When I visited Iran a few years ago, my favorite question was, "Who
runs this country?" The response often was nervous laughter, followed
by a raised eyebrow, a shrug and a stage whisper: "The dark forces."
My next question"The dark forces?"would elicit the weaving of my
interlocutor's own fabulously intricate conspiracy theory. "It's very
Persian," a young businessman told me. "We're very
conspiracy-minded." So let's indulge ourselves and think like
Persians about recent events in the Middle East. Here's my conspiracy
theory:
It...