Abstract:
The idea of overthrowing the Iranian government through covert but peaceful means is not
original. The project was first brought to my attention in August 2006 when I worked as an
intern research assistant at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Diplomacy's Jebsen Center for
Counter-terrorism. I worked for the then director of the center Brigadier General Russell Howard
(Ret.) on a project titled Bringing Down Iran Without Firing A Shot. I wasn't very experienced in
the world of covert operations in the field or in the academic realm but I was very interested in
becoming involved in it. General Howard, on the other hand, was not only a counter-terrorism
strategist but a veteran Special Forces officer, an academic, and a tutor. It was General Howard
who introduced me to the idea of targeting factors specific to Iran in order to adapt to the
country's specific needs. He had six factors which he believed were important: The military use
of ongoing insurgencies within Iran, political strife, economic strife, declining oil revenues,
demographics, and deteriorating infrastructure. This project was the foundation of this paper.
