Iranian Imbroglios Revisited

Ironically, the title of my 1987 World Policy Journal article, “Iranian Imbroglios: Who's Irrational?” could serve as well today, 21 years later, for another essay on U.S. policy in Iran. My original effort noted the folly of U.S. government hubris—believing it could maneuver the Iranian revolutionary leadership to act in American interests in the Cold War against the Soviets. Seeing all international issues in terms of the Cold War contributed to our trying to find ruling “moderates” in the Iran-Contra scandal, and also to our subsequent backing of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War.