I am not a detached, flawless observer of history, nor do I pretend to be. Over the years, watching the relentless cycle of conflict in Iran and the broader Middle East, I have felt the full spectrum of human emotion: grief, desperation, and anger.

This book is my attempt to process my thoughts and emotions into something useful. Today, we are caught in a deadlock between three existing alternatives: a win, a loss, or a very difficult, potentially unsatisfactory compromise over the nuclear issue and regional security that might not answer the basic questions of democracy in Iran and peace in the Middle East.

Without dismissing those ongoing efforts, the solutions proposed here — a bloodless transition, constitutional amnesty, and massive economic integration — should be viewed as a possible alternative path, potentially benefiting all sides by helping us break this difficult historical deadlock.

THE GOLDEN BRIDGE

A Compromise for Iran