Dear Michael,
Given all the propaganda about Iran -- propaganda that constantly and completely saturates the media -- it's no easy thing to make sense out of U.S.-Iranian relations. Nor is it likely that unless and until relations are normalized most Americans will get a clue. Among foreign policy elites, however, it's another story because there is a realistic chance that relations could be normalized and, therefore, the inside Washington default reaction is to try to become positioned, on a contingent basis, to get on the right side of that curve. As Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett put it in their latest, Going To Tehran (Macmillan, 2013), all it takes is the equivalent of Nixon going to China. Well, to be honest, that's asking a lot! Nevertheless, given that the Leveretts have been more consistently correct about Iran than almost anybody else, and given their very specialized and rare expertise, it's only prudent to take their arguments seriously.
I have tremendous admiration for the Leveretts. And I think that in a more rational world Flynt is exactly the kind of person one might expect to become Secretary of State; alas, that prospect, in our world, does not seem possible.
This is one of the better shows I've done and I hope you give it a listen!
Best,g.
http://www.electricpolitics.com/podcast/2013/03/going_to_tehran.html
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