A Template for Taming Iran

The last time we fought Islamic brigands, the entanglement lasted three decades

The U.S. has been embroiled with Iran since 1979, first with the hostage crisis, then with Iran-contra, now with the "axis of evil." And if the past is any indication, that entanglement--sour, multiform and intractable--is likely to last decades: it took four Presidents, two wars and several treaties to get us out of the bad relationship the last time we tried.

With independence, America threw off the carapace of regulations and treaties that applied to British colonies. This meant we would have to deal on our own with the Barbary States. The Barbary States--Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli--were four North African countries whose...

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