Though Erlich (Target Iraq
) offers an alternative explanation for Iranian-U.S. mistrust and the growing possibility of an American strike against Iran, he doesn't back it up convincingly. He writes: “The U.S. ruling elite always wants to confuse national security with corporate/military interests. The people of the United States face no immediate threat from Iran.... But Iran does threaten the interests of the... elite who run the United States.” Yet he does very little to support this thesis other than repeat it, as if that would make it true. Drawing on familiar observations, he offers a clear, if occasionally patronizing picture of contemporary Iran, but the reasoning behind his flat-out denial that Iran is developing nuclear weapons boils down to: it would be hard to do; people I like tell me it's not so; and the mainstream media are just telling you what the ruling elite wants you to think. Admittedly, it's hard to prove something's nonexistence, but Erlich's effort is unlikely to convince people who don't already agree with him. (Oct.)
