If the tactics the Trump administration are taking with Iran seem familiar, it’s because they’ve played out once before. Officials are using an out-of-print book about the Cold War as a playbook for dealing with Iranhttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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People who take this position suggest that Reagan’s aggressive policy toward the Soviet regime zeroed in on the problems caused by its corruption and mismanagement, and made them worse. In turn, this pushed the Soviet union over the edge to collapsehttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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A book by one of Steve Bannon’s favorite authors is in circulation inside the administration as a how-to guide for dealing with Iran. It’s called “Victory: The Reagan Administration’s Secret Strategy that Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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The book’s champion inside the administration, Mark Dubowitz, is the head of the Washington think tank with perhaps the most outside influence on the Trump administration’s Iran policy. He says he personally handed a copy to Secretary of State Mike Pompeohttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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One expert from Dubowitz's think tank summed up the policy: “Hammer them with everything, and potentially even collapse the regime.” He tapped his book copy and said: “The question I have.. is does the US have the chops to pull this off?”https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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The strategy is not necessarily going to work. Here’s what one former senior official in the Trump administration who remains supportive of the approach, but requested anonymity to speak candidly https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …pic.twitter.com/J5NoVrJMqz
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Still, it’s a fascinating window into the ways ideas circulate inside an opaque administration, and how the playbook is unfolding. Dubowitz pointed out “Trump is not Reagan. One must always keep that in mind"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegiglio/trump-officials-are-reading-a-book-about-the-cold-war-for?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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