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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-threat20-2009may20,0,5589113.story
Report: Iran a Military Paper Tiger
[Los Angeles Times] Borzou Daragahi - The RAND report found Iran a less formidable adversary than some believe. The report notes "significant barriers and buffers" to Iran's ambitions because of the reality of regional ethnic and religious politics and "its limited conventional military capacity, diplomatic isolation and past strategic missteps." The report also paints Iran as a military paper tiger, with poorly maintained and outdated equipment and shortages of personnel. The report says "Iran has limited leverage over so-called proxy groups" such as Hizbullah, Hamas and its allies in Iraq. "In the event of conflict between the United States and Iran, the willingness of these groups to retaliate purely in the service of Tehran should not be assumed as automatic."