Machiavelli and the Mullahs

The first part of this article that really jumped out at me was subtle comparison of Bush to the Prince. By doing so, the author helps a younger reader to acknowledge the similarities between Machiavelli's The Prince and modern day. "The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." - Bush and "If they wait until they are near at hand, the medicine will not be in time, for by then the malady will have become incurable." - Machiavelli. Bush's plan for Tehran included the following Machiavellian principles: self-reliance, importance of being feared, need to take initiative when conflict is inevitable. However, I still am not completely on board with the whoe idea that fear is a better way to control people than by love. It is through true respect, trust and honor that people are able to truly be controlled and kept under your power. This article does a great job relating the concepts brought forth from Machiavelli and putting them into a way our generation is better able to understand them.