And we're not invited...

I took the blue pill this morning.

The blue pill is my malaria medicine. I have to take it for four weeks after returning from Haiti. I practically bathed in bug spray during our mission but I did get a few mosquito bites. Malaria is one rabbit hole I do not want to go down.

I drove to work this morning in the normal construct. With the windows down, I enjoyed temperatures in the low sixties (in July!!) and listened to Morning Edition on NPR. One story which interested me discussed the new Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani and the ongoing problem of Iran.

This is not Rhode Island

Based on some lazy research this morning I found that Iran is reported to be the 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 636,372 square miles, with a population of around 77 million. The official name of The Country Formerly Known as Persia is The Islamic Republic of Iran.

They're a republic; we're a republic. We should get on like a house on fire, right?

Not according to Mark Dubowitz, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan policy institute. Iran is vulnerable right now with a myriad of economic, social, and political issues affecting everyday living for the people on the street and the status of Iran as a country of influence, both regionally and globally.

Agent Dubowitz

Mr. Dubowitz therefore believes it is the perfect time to "go after" Iran's foreign exchange reserves, exports, and its currency, in order to bring the regime closer to the brink of economic collapse. The reason for taking Iran out behind the woodshed? To force the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, to make meaningful concessions, most prominently with regard to Iran's nuclear program.

Iran is a plague and we are the cure?

Hubris: Noun; Excessive pride or self-confidence.

We need smart men and women in our government. We need smart men and women in positions of influence that allow us to shape national and foreign policies that both help America and allow us to help other nations - our global neighbors. So what message are we sending our children, our fellow Americans and our allies around the world by adopting a policy of economic earth scorching toward Iran?

Agent Smith - I mean Mr. Dubowitz - has worked in venture capital, technology management and law. He has a masters in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and law and MBA degrees from the University of Toronto. The collective result of which has led him to believe that we can bully our neighbors into doing what we want them to do.

And what about Iran? What is their reaction to the sanction-o-rama that Mr. Dubowitz wants to escalate? Not surprisingly, we're not on the guest list for Mr. Rouhani's inauguration.

If I didn't know better, I'd think that I took the red pill this morning.

X