There is yet another article arguing for a change in US policy towards Iran.

There is Iran-E -- the evil conservative clerics, intelligence services and shock troops of the regime, who still have a monopoly on all the tools of coercion and are responsible for Iran's support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and the killing of Iranian intellectuals a few years ago.

Then there is Iran-C -- the rational conservatives among the clerics and bazaari merchants, who backed the Islamic revolution out of a real revulsion for the Shah's secular despotism, but who favor democracy and the rule of law. For now, Iran-C is aligned with Iran-E.

Finally, there is Iran-R, all the reformers -- the economically strapped middle class, the rising student generation and former revolutionaries who are fed up with clerical rule. They want more democracy and less imposed religion, and they are leading the opposition in Parliament but they have the least power.

That's why the key to peaceful change in Iran is a break within the conservative ruling elite. The key is to get Iran-C, the rational conservatives, to break with Iran-E, the dark conservatives, and forge a new alliance with the reformers.

Support of Iran has been recognized as essential by experts on both the left and the right (if you subscribe to UNMEDIA list, you'll have noticed that there have been anumber of Iran subject articles posted from National Review that make much teh same arguments as Friedman does. See at left for the link to the Yahoo group, to browse the public archives if you are interested in more)

UPDATE: click here for a list of articles on Iran that have been posted to UNMEDIA.