by John Limbert “Can’t anybody here play this game?” –Casey Stengel on the New York Mets, 1963 Marx tells us that history happens first as tragedy and then as farce. He was predicting what has occurred between the U.S. and… Continue Reading
by John Limbert Beginning July 2014, the Iranians had a problem. For reasons known only to themselves, Revolutionary Guards Security Officers arrested Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and Yeganeh Salehi, his wife of 15 months, in the garage of their… Continue Reading
by John Limbert At some time in the future, when officials in Washington and Tehran finally stop yelling at each other and start talking, they will ask themselves: “Why did we waste so much time hating each other?” They are… Continue Reading
by John Limbert History teaches that outside efforts at regime change in Iran rarely end well for the changer. Nor do invaders face an easy road to conquest. The fate of the Roman leader Marcus Licinius Crassus in 53 BCE… Continue Reading
by John Limbert “The angry Mojahed lies in ambush in the alley, American, come out. Your blood will flow on the ground.” Thus sang the militants of the Iranian opposition group MEK (Mojahedin-e-Khalq) to a catchy Kurdish folk tune. Now… Continue Reading