Alexander Dugin: Here, one must consider the broader context. American operations involving invasion and regime change in recent decades have succeeded only under one condition: there had to be a layer within the leadership of the target country that had already concluded a traitorous agreement with the Americans. Without this, they never succeeded in anything — such operations did not even begin.
The scenario is always the same: first, threats are issued, troops are deployed, and air strikes are launched. Then — whether by the Americans, their local allies, or ‘their own’ hands — the figure embodying resistance, sovereignty and consolidation is eliminated. They are either discredited or physically eliminated.
And then comes the inevitable betrayal. I am referring to what I call ‘the sixth column’. This is not the ‘fifth column’ that takes to the streets to protest — in repressive regimes, such as China or Iran, they can simply be arrested, and that is the end of the matter. The ‘sixth column’ is the Americans’ main strategy and the greatest danger. These are people in the highest echelons of power, close to the sovereign state ruler. There is always someone ready to strike a deal with Washington in order to rise from second or third in command to first. Since the Americans declare war specifically on the leader, those next in line enter into negotiations in order to drastically change their social status.
That is the only thing that has ever worked. Ever.
In Iran, however, the situation is different. Ironically, the potential ‘sixth column’ — those who, in theory, could have struck a deal with the Americans — was swept away by the very first strikes by the US and Israel. There is simply no one left in the leadership who is prepared for separate negotiations.
Identifying the ‘sixth column’ is extremely difficult: formally, these people are absolutely loyal; they swear allegiance to the state, yet in reality they play secret games with the enemy. It was precisely on them that Washington relied in Iraq, Libya and Syria; all the ‘colour revolutions’ from Venezuela to the Middle East were built on this principle. But today, there is no such scenario in Iran. For the first time in a long while, the Americans will have to fight for real.
