We may get a change, but not the one we expect

Manhattan: I roll my eyes a bit at the Instagram crowd celebrating the Iran war as a new age of freedom and enlightenment for the Iranian people. President Trump has put forth the “Venezuela model” as his ideal scenario for Iran (and others). Following that model means abandoning the democratic opposition within that country and installing a compliant puppet within the context of the existing regime. Isn’t this what has happened so far in Venezuela, or am I wrong?

It’s certainly possible, and even likely, that the current leader of Venezuela is better than who she replaced. But it doesn’t seem that Trump installed some sort of great reformer along the lines of Mikhail Gorbachev.

The opposite of the ayatollah is not necessarily Thomas Jefferson. It could be someone more Western-friendly and business-minded but still within the context of the Islamic Republic, with all of its suppressive apparatus. One relevant factor, however, is that the Islamic Republic is perhaps more entrenched than was Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The ayatollah’s predecessor, the founder of the Islamic Republic, believed strongly in the following: the hijab, death to America, death to Israel. I wonder if there is a “reformer” type — no less someone with whom Trump can do business — within the Iranian regime’s ranks.

For Israel, weakening Iran is a clear positive — a generational pivot, in fact. For the Iranian people, it’s yet unclear. Daniel Dolgicer

Ridgewood, N.J.: Trump, “you’re fired” from the American people, who did not support a war that is driving up gas prices while creating a regime change that........

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