Iran: Still “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee”

By Robert M. Levy

What is the difference between the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Robert E. Lee? Unlike any IRGC commander, General Lee “knew when he was licked.” He knew that his soldiers and his people had experienced too much death. So, in April 1865, as painful as it was to Lee personally, his empathy for his countrymen motivated him to surrender his Army of Northern Virginia.

On the other hand, the current IRGC leadership doesn’t care about its soldiers or its people. They are so absorbed by a mindless fanaticism that empathy for soldiers and citizens cannot penetrate. Like the Nazis of Germany or the militarists of Japan, no matter the pain experienced by the people, they will not capitulate.

So, America is faced with a dilemma. The United States is in the middle of a war. Some say it is a righteous war to rid a rogue nation of its ability to deploy nuclear weapons. Others say that the situation was not all that grave. They argue that the war was a war of choice…a bad choice. But all of that is now irrelevant. The war has begun. And “There is no substitute for victory.”

The United States has already won the war on the battlefield. America always does. But winning a war militarily is not the same as winning a war psychologically. Military victory without psychological victory leads to results like those of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Ultimately, small bands of asymmetrical warriors tire out the Pyrrhic victors. The war is eventually lost.

Someone must make them capitulate. And, like Robert Lee, it will not be one of us.

Fanatics will not capitulate from pain. They will only capitulate when one of their own convinces them that their fanaticism is no longer worthy of their devotion.

That cannot come by the son of a former Shah allied to Israel and the United States. It must come from someone respected within their own ranks.

So, like Lee, a member of the enemy leadership must show sufficient empathy for the soldiers and citizens to urge capitulation. That is the only type of person capable of convincing the fanatics to capitulate too.

Beyond the mere surrender of a single army, albeit the most important army of the Confederacy, psychological surrender was the most important event triggered when Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse. It was opposed by the “Militant Mullahs ” of the Confederacy like Jefferson Davis. They, like today’s IRGC, wanted the citizens and soldiers to suffer even more. But the regular army and the people who supported that regular army were convinced by Lee that it was time for peace. It was the way that Lee helped convince the fanatics to capitulate too.

In Iran, that is the War Plan of Donald Trump…to find Iran’s Robert E. Lee and end the present war the same way Lee ended the Civil War in the American South. President Trump did it in Venezuela. There, his Robert E. Lee look-alike was socialist Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. She could see “the writing on the wall.” And, like Robert E. Lee, she commanded the respect of the nation’s less than fanatical regular military. She also enjoyed similar respect with a significant, albeit not a majority, of the Venezuelan people. So, similar to Lee, she effectively surrendered.

Then, with her respected stature, she neutralized the fanatics and brought the peace Venezuela enjoys today.

In Iran, the role formerly played by Delcy Rodriguez and Robert E. Lee was first awarded to former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But the IRGC of Iran was more capable than “Cuban Intelligence” which was working as the IRGC of Venezuela. The Cubans failed to foil Delcy Rodriguez. However, the fanatical IRGC discovered the role of Ahmadinejad before he could organize either his “Appomattox Courthouse” or a “deal” with Donald Trump. The former president was placed under arrest. In Iran, the roles were reversed. It turned out that it was “Robert E. Lee” who was neutralized by the IRGC playing the part of Jefferson Davis.

Yet, this did not stop Donald Trump. He is pursuing his war plan still…“Waiting for the Robert E. Lee.” It is a plan that sounds silly but is perhaps not as silly as it seems.

Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made a recent speech which intimated that he was interested in playing the next “Robert E. Lee.” Perhaps there are others, too. History suggests that Lee was not an isolated anomaly. Lee’s role in World War II was played by General Alfred Jodl who neutralized the fanatical SS in Europe. Lee was played a few months later by Japanese Emperor Michinomiya Hirohito, who neutralized his own fanatical “militarists.” So perhaps the historically proven war plan of Donald Trump might yet work.

As such, the plan will continue: 1) Lay siege by surrounding and isolating the enemy and (2) hope that the siege, including, but not limited to the growing worthlessness of Iran’s “Confederate money” will strangle Iran enough that a true Robert E. Lee will emerge and bring to the entire Middle East as well as the Persian people a permanent peace.

Robert M. Levy

RobertReports.substack.com

Robert M. Levy grew up in Moore County and graduated from Pinecrest High School. He earned a BA in history and sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his honors thesis on the Wilmington Rebellion of 1898 became part of the university’s library collection.

Admitted to the California State Bar in 1978, Levy practiced law for 40 years in California and Maryland, focusing on family and criminal law, including work with juvenile offenders and abused children. His writing on affirmative action appeared in the San Fernando Valley Law Review, and he authored Divorce: A Cynical Experience. He later earned a North Carolina teaching certificate from UNC Charlotte and taught high school social studies across Moore County.

Levy has served as chairman of the Moore County School Board, president of the North Carolina Electoral College, chairman of the Moore County Republican Party, and a columnist for The Pilot in Southern Pines. He lives in Pinehurst with his wife, Linda, and they have three children and four grandchildren.

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