Government with iranian officials here shes nice to hear professor lecture at American University in washington. The writing has appeared in the new york times, politico, Foreign Policy and Washington Monthly among others. They came to us last night from virginia, took a late night train and what id like to do is turn it over to you for your thoughts and comments to start off. Thank you very much. Im going to start for us today. Let me thank you much for hosting us to thank you for coming. Its an honor pleasure and we look forward to nature scene discussion today. Im going to start with two provocative themes from our new book, going to tehran why the United States must come to terms with the Islamic Republic of iran. The first of these means, and these two get at the heart of our book. The United States is today enhanced and for the past two years a power and relative decline in the middle east. The second core team as the biggest beneficiary of american ongoing decline in the middle east is the Islamic Republic of iran. If youre not sure you agree with these propositions, i want to ask you to compare the relative position of the United States and the Islamic Republic of a rant in middle east today with where they were on the eve of 9 11 over 10 years ago. On the eve of 9 11, every single government in the middle east with either proamerican government egypt and turkey in negotiation effectively to become proamerican but government. In libya are antiiranian like Saddam Husseins government in iraq. Every single government in the middle east is either proamericans in negotiations to become proamerican or antiiranian. It pretty good position for the 90s dates in the middle east. But because of election, today governments across the middle east and egypt, tunisia, lebanon, palestine, turkey, iraq are on no longer proamerican or antiiranian. They are all pursuing at least independent foreign policies, which are by definition much less to see a stick about strategic cooperation with the United States and much more open to the Islamic Republic of iran. Simply put, today relatively speaking the United States is in a profoundly weaker position in the middle east and the sonic republic of iran is in a significantly stronger position. This essentially have been because there is a dramatic shift in the middle east onto power. In our book, going to tehran, we describe how part of this shift has been as occurring is because of mistakes and american policies in the middle east. But we also describe in our book that part of what is going on a something vastly underappreciated in the last, which are the successes of the Islamic Republic of iran, which are also driving a shift in the regional balance of power. We arguing about these two are inextricably linked. The successes that the Islamic Republic is driving, that they are linked and it is in fact americans dysfunctional policy towards the Islamic Republic of iran, which is part of our decline in the middle east. We also argue will take strategic realignment of the United States that the Islamic Republic of iran to enable americas strategic recovery in the middle east. We unpack these arguments by examining the bases for u. S. Dominance in the middle east, something increasingly driven since the end of the cold war by americans in a capability to project enormous amounts of conventional military force in the middle east. No one else can project this kind of military force in the middle east today or for years to come. This has given the United States extraordinary economic and political influence in the middle east and in fact reinforced are military and Economic Dominance and other key parts of the world. But our failures in afghanistan and iraq in particular have underscored especially for middle Eastern Publics the limit of what American Military can accomplish. We arguing our book that these failures in policy would not just idiosyncratic ideologically generated products of the george bush administration. As we described in our book, the stem from a much deeper source that cuts across both democratic and republican administrations than something we describe as the United States getting into a postcold war temptation to act as an imperial power in the middle east. It is this imperial turn in americas middle east policy pursuant to very little regard for reality on the ground in the middle east thats proven not just quixotic, but deeply damaging to american interests. As a candidate that can take us in it not president obama thing seemed to really understand appeared to type about it creatively during the campaign. He pledged about two notches withdraw american troops from iraq, the change would be called the american mindset that gotten us into the strategic to go invading iraq in place. He pledged to really change americas middle east policy. Instead, the Obama Administration has pursued the same so supposes that is predecessors, the same that inflicts damage to americas strategic position. It covers out, the Obama Administration today is not just presiding over his called middle east peace process. The very demise of the nice features solution to the israelipalestinian conflict. Of the Obama Administration intervention in libya was able to overthrow moammar gadhafi, if not incubating in libya at a significant threat to American Security interests. As we detail in our book, going to tehran, the Obama Administration has gone beyond and threatening the Islamic Republic to do something which argued even more dangerous, to discard anime engagement of the strategy for dealing with the Islamic Republic of iran. Theyre sure to reach out to the Islamic Republic of iran of field and therefore engagement is perhaps. The result is on president obama the middle east balance of power has shifted further away from the United States and allies and i was at the end of the george w. Bush administration. This brings me to another critically important part of our book, which is how the Islamic Republic of iran has become the biggest that issue of american mistakes and are ongoing decline in the middle east. In our book, we lay out how by pursuing a Foreign Policy and building a domestic political order that attracts publics, the Islamic Republic of iran has been able to take an impeach of american mistakes, to improve its own position dramatically. The key to the Islamic Republic successes has been that beyond the shift in the distribution of power, who has power in the middle east is a detailed earlier, something even more important is happening and that is the middle east will power itself is changing. It is now increasingly less defined by Hard Military capabilities for the United States has a clear advantage in the Islamic Republic of iran is relatively positioned and more defined in terms of the balance of influence are the Islamic Republic of iran has real unique advantages. As we explained in our book, the Islamic Republic is encouraging and taken advantage of this important transformation in the middle east. One of the most remarkable thing about this shift the balance of power over the last decade, away from the United States and allies in towards the Islamic Republic of iran and its allies is the shift has had virtually nothing to do with their increase of military force for economic coercion. The foam of the public hasnt invaded anybody or sanctioned anybody. Its all about the Islamic Republic soft power. In our book, we set the Islamic Republic cultivation and reliance on soft power in a strategic context via a critical set of services we drew on for a book with the unique and unparalleled opportunities we have had to sit and listen to my name to amounts and officials explain how the world looks Strategic Finance the bid, their point of view. This is almost never done an american analysis of iran today. From our experience, research, interviews, we detail how from looking at the world from tehran, one these 15 neighboring states, nearly all of whom have in hostile to the very idea of an Islamic Republic. Not just hostile, but irans neighbor to the east, afghanistan killed iranian diplomat in our consulate and mother should read. The neighbor to the west under Saddam Hussein without an Islamic Republic other arab neighbors invaded eland, killing 300,000 of his citizens. Today, many of the same era countries that helped iraq invade and fight the Islamic Republic today hosts thousands of u. S. Troops and billions of dollars worth of the most deadly u. S. Weapons. All poised and threatening to attack Islamic Republic to disarmament of mass destruction it does not have. To do a significant attorney charges, the Islamic Republic of iran has built a strong, defensive military capability. But it has virtually no capability to project military power offensively be honest orders. So what it is done in its real success and National Securities energy has been to develop a Software Strategy. A strategy that galvanizes regional publics, galvanizes these publics most intensely of grievances, including grievances against the United States and israel and most importantly against their own unrepresentative prowestern government in regime. Amendment the Islamic Republic has done is aligned itself with Public Opinion at south in the middle east to constrain hostile governments from attacking a. Just think about how barbering largely shia population would react to the fleetest our fifth fleet based in bahrain to attack the Islamic Republic today. U. S. Military planners could hope that the irans population would be passive as they think they assumed maybe even five years ago. But today it clearly seems reckless. For other ridiculing Many American policy elites do with the Islamic Republic, the appeal to regional public actually works. It works to constrain the United States and hostile, unrepresentative prowestern neighboring iran. Iran is also the two reinforce these aspects of a Software Strategy of a number of years at picking what we would call winners, zero, hamas, hezbollah, shia groups, even the Muslim Brotherhood political ally and key regional arenas across the middle east. This years line that are the Islamic Republic of iran on these groups have paid off because now their regional allies have become the most influential players in their respective arenas today. The result is todays the Islamic Republic of iran and its ideas of the pacific tory government and independent Foreign Policy that has real influence, real power in countries across the middle east from egypt to bahrain that were once clearly in americas camp. In strategic terms, the Islamic Republic of iran has been dependencies into its narrative not its drones, not its tanks, using political awakening of middle Eastern Public to offer the very nature of power politics in the middle east. At least describe in our book, to going to tehran, it has been effective Foreign Policy and National Security strategy for the Islamic Republic of iran, one repeatedly underappreciated in the United States. At this point, im going to hand it over to flynt to continue our discussion. Tonight to pick up on hillarys point on the strategy for resetting the regional balance of power that iranian policymakers have long seen against the Islamic Republic, it is important to note and for americans to understand that its only an Islamic Republic of iran, which can accrue these kind of soft power games. A prowestern secular republic of iran couldnt do it. Only the Islamic Republic of iran can do it. As we discussed in our book, instead of recognizing and pondering this american political policy media elite are said to be picked in the republic is an illegitimate system so despised by its own population that isnt imminent danger of overthrow. American elites have been doing this literally for more than 30 years, virtually since the Islamic Republics founding the iranian revolution. For more than 30 years the Islamic Republic has simply defied the relentless predictions of its collapse or defeat. The Islamic Republic has survived because the integration of participatory politics and election principles and institutions of islamic governance and a strong commitment to Foreign Policy independent, this model is an actual fact what a maturity of romanian living inside their country one. They dont want a political mortar and westernstyle secular liberalism. They want an indigenously generated political order that reflects their cultural and religious value is the reformist President Hamid said to me shortly before leaving office, these are his words. Freedom, independence and progress within the context of both religiosity and nationally to achieve. Thats what the Islamic Republic but valid for the chance to pursue. This is the vision of Imam Khomeini in the Islamic Republic on the tuition and even those iranians who want the Islamic Republic to evolve in significant ways. At the end of the day, most of those iranians still wanted to be the Islamic Republic of iran. In the course of our visit to tehran, a member of the politicians policymakers, scholars that we talked to have pointed out that the Islamic Republic does not collect cells and islamic faith like saudi arabia does. For that implies a perfection that iranian safely invested in the systems note they have not changed. In iran, the Islamic Republic is a definition something that is very much a work in progress. The Islamic Republic has made progress in a number of ways. Contrary to deeply rooted at times find western stereotypes, the Islamic Republic has achieved far more progress outcomes in alleviating poverty, health care, providing educational access and expanding opportunities for women in the shahs regime aggregate. Hillary and i are happy to go into this morning q a if you like, let me give you a couple examples of what im talking about. The Islamic Republic has developed a hope your system that is greatly increase and reduce infant and child mentality in iran. The provision of health care to rural areas has been particularly impressive since the revolution. The Islamic Republic is basically equalized outcomes in urban and rural setting in a knot or which is really quite extraordinary in an international context. Get this. There are no iranian doctors and Public Health specialists working with State University and ngos state of mississippi to introduce iranian styled <