Machiavelli and the Mullahs

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli gives political advice that could be applied to the current situation between the United States and Iran. In his book, Machiavelli advises leaders to fix problems right away before they become incurable. David J. Rusin, the author of "Machiavelli and the Mullahs," believes that the time to stop Iran's nuclear program is now. Rusin also believes that the President should apply three of Machiavelli's principles to the current situation with Iran: self-reliance, the importance of being feared, and taking initiative once a conflict is inevitable. Self-reliance is important because the United States can't rely on others such as the UN to do what is necessary to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It is important to be feared because otherwise all of our threats will be seen as empty, and we will get nowhere with negotiations because Iran will have no motivation to cooperate. When war is inevitable, the President must take the initiative to fight the terrorists and not allow them to obtain nuclear weapons.