Subject: Re: About Iran’s Navy “At the Bottom of the Sea”
But they have the advantage of not particularly caring whether their citizens suffer at all, but our leadership has the disadvantage of having to be responsive to the electorate. It's hard for us to continue prosecuting an unpopular war, whereas they run an authoritarian dictatorship where control comes from the barrel of a gun, not the ballot box. Plus, this is happening to their country - these are existential stakes for the Iranian regime, and much more modest stakes for us - still significant, to be sure, just not as significant as it is for them.

They have to pay their thugs. Now that Iranian citizens are starting to come out at night and knife them, a particular cost/benefit ration emerges amongst the Basij:

-Go to work, maybe get knifed?
-Or stay at home since the pay is getting thin?

Decisions, decisions.