Another Velvet Revolution? Implications of the 1989 Czech Velvet Revolution on Iran

<p>In a recent Washington Times article retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney provided commentary on potential US military courses of action to counter Iranian nuclear advances. The editorial published on 3 August 2010 quoted the General as stating'It will be primarily an air attack with covert work to start a 'velvet' revolution so [the] Iranian people can take back their country.' This thesis paper is proposed in response to that statement and to examine the validity of the premise. It is intended to provide critical analysis of the two part hypothesis inferred by Lt. Gen. McInerney in his statement. He assumes that the preponderance of Iranian people want change and are willing to 'take back their country' to make it occur. He also implies that US influence through air attacks and covert operations could set the conditions for a velvet revolution to take place.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>