The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots' Quest for Destruction (Hardcover)

by Michael A. Ledeen (Author)
Key Phrases: terror masters, United States, Islamic Republic, Middle East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Ledeen, a well-known conservative pundit on Iran, argues passionately for a bolder, better-reasoned American policy toward the Islamic republic. He presents compelling evidence that the Shiite regime has collaborated with al-Qaeda and other Sunni terrorist organizations, and that Iran's Supreme Leader has considered the goal of killing Westerners and Jews throughout the Middle East. In presenting his litany of Iranian perfidies, however, Ledeen can seem to overreach: he divines Persian influence in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in 1979 and implies there's consensus that Tehran is harboring Ayman al-Zawahiri. Of 9/11 Ledeen writes, [W]e have still not unraveled all the threads of the September 11 conspiracy. If we ever do, I suspect we will be amazed at the number of terrorist groups—and their national sponsors—that were involved in the conspiracy. The last third of this short book is dedicated to improving American policy toward Iran. One of the cooler heads at AEI and the National Review, Ledeen presents discussions not on bombs and tactical strikes, but on the moral, logistical and material support for Iranian dissidents, who he claims make up a clear majority of the population. While he may overestimate the potential for regime change in the near future, Ledeen's suggestions merit further discussion. (Sept.)
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Review

"Sometimes controversial, often provocative, always informative and insightful."—Bernard Lewis, author of What Went Wrong?, The Middle East, and The Arabs in History

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Truman Talley Books; 1st edition (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312376553
• ISBN-13: 978-0312376550
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,481 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If You Can't Change People, Change People, September 15, 2007

By	Lightman (New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Michael Ledeen's essential thesis in this book is that the Islamic Republic of Iran is an unchanging, intransigent, and implacable enemy of modernity and of the West. Since the revolution that brought the Mullahs to power, US policy has naively hoped that forces of moderation would gain the ascendancy and that a negotiated common ground would be found. Nearly thirty years later, Iran retains its hardened position, torturing its people, engaging in international terrorism, and developing a nuclear capability to dominate the region. Ledeen argues that since the Islamic Republic has not changed, it is time for US policy to promote regime change in Iran.

This is all well and good, but the key question is how to accomplish this goal.

The author proceeds from the assumption, articulated by Machiavelli, that "tyranny is the most unstable form of government". This being the case he argues that not much is needed to oust the mullahs, writing, "The Iranian people need three things from us to catalyze their wide-ranging protests into an effective revolutionary force: hope, information, and some material support".

Hope, according to Ledeen, is provided by nothing more than a declaration that the United States wants regime change in Iran, transmitted into the country by radio such as the Voice of America.

Information, in the author's view, also depends on radio broadcasts and the Internet to let the Iranian people know what's going on in their country, and to provide "how to" information from leaders of other revolutionary movements.

The needed material support to bring about the downfall of the regime includes nothing more than "satellite phones, laptops, servers, phone cards, software to beat the regime's `filtering' of the Internet, and so forth". Ledeen helpfully points out that "Such material should be distributed to the key groups: students, teachers, workers (especially truck drivers and oil and textile workers), key religious leaders, both inside Iran and to their supporters outside".

Sorry. This seems just a bit too easy.

Particularly after Ledeen's effective portrayal of the government as ruthless, tenacious, and highly organized in its grip on power, this analysis seems to exhibit the same naïveté that he is so critical of in the US policy of the last thirty years.

And there are other problems with this book.

Many controversial statements are made without supporting documentation, and this cannot help but erode the credibility of the author's argument.

This is unfortunate. Ledeen is correct that the Islamic Republic represents a profound threat that must be confronted before it is too late. It is too bad that his book is not likely to persuade those who do not yet understand this.

77 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb modern history, September 4, 2007

By	Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Michael Ledeen thinks that Iran's "mullocracy" can be toppled without U.S. force, and that American's military choices are limited to a focus on Iran's nuclear program or general bombing to destroy Iran's fascist government. He also believes that the only exportable U.S. "weapon" is "the American democratic revolution."

Like former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy, I disagree. If the U.S. tackles Iran militarily, its campaign should not be hobbled in advance. Moreover, Iran is one of world's states least likely to sprout an American style democracy.

Everything else in this book, though, is not only intelligent, but necessary to U.S. national survival. Democrats and Republicans alike have got to stop playing footsie with the Islamic theocrats, and pretending that some miracle will moderate Islamic fascism.

There are many reasons for Islamic stridency, not least of all the history, theology and ideology fundamental to all forms of Islam, Shi'ite and Sunni alike (as explained brilliantly in Dr. Andrew Bostom's The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims and his forthcoming The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History).

But among the most pertinent reasons just now is the refusal of U.S. governments for the last 30 years to even examine the problem. The former President most at fault is Jimmy Carter (The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators and Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry), but certainly, others have done their bit, more than accommodating Islamic radicals whom they wishfully insist on terming "moderates." Especially Bill Clinton, (The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House) but also Ronald Reagan--who was far too consumed with defeating communism to see the next (far more dangerous) ideological war had already started--not to mention many State Department and other officials, wearing blinders, nighttime light blinders, that is.

Pretending we can negotiate with people who want to destroy the West only empowers them.

I strongly recommend reading Islamic religious history in books like Bostom's. But Michael Ledeen also offers a critical political analysis of the modern American weakness, a collective refusal to see the elephant sitting right in front of us.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is Michael Ledeen Underestimating the Threat of Religious Totalitarianism?, September 10, 2007

By	David Thomson "Second Rate Eric Hoffer Imitator" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I am uncomfortable with the central theme of "The Iranian Time Bomb." Michael Ledeen compares the religious fanatical leaders of Iran with their significantly more secular counterparts in the former Soviet Union. The Communist thugs, however, enjoyed life and were not even slightly interested in committing suicide on behalf of the cause. Outright cynicism was the norm at the end of the regime. They seemed more interested in drinking the best vodka, eating premium caviar, and entertaining their mistresses than wiping out the West. The author may want to instead remember the last hours of Adolph Hitler and his loyal inner circle. What would have likely occurred if they possessed weapons of mass destruction? I think we already know the answer to this question. Just how nihilistically inclined are the Iranian mullahs? Are they willing to annihilate the whole planet? Do they love death more than life?

The polling data indicating, "that upward of 70 percent of Iranians want greater freedom and better relations with the United States", legitimately encourages Ledeen. But do these people control the military? When push comes to shove, will they be able to disable the weapons pointed at our direction? We know this much: the Iranian regime has unofficially declared war on the United States. Constantly the mullahs push the envelope a little further. Our own elected officials, including the present administration, have for far too long looked the other way. Ledeen provides Americans with the information they so desperately need. Is he overly optimistic about reforming the current reactionary government of Iran? Whatever, the United States is very hesitant to preemptively order its military forces to strike at Iranian targets. At the very most, we will fund revolutionary activity within the country. This is, alas, why Michael Ledeen's book is so important. We are simply not going to do anything more then what he suggests! There is another work I highly recommend that will further help one to understand how the United States got itself trapped in this mess. It is the 1985 book by Amir Taheri entitled, The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution.