The May 17 nuclear declaration between Iran, Brazil, and Turkey is a positive step but it does not resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis since Iran will continue enriching uranium on its own. The declaration might stall UN sanctions against Iran particularly if China or Russia supports it.
Competing political and economic interests towards Iran in the international community have weakened US resolve to contain Iran. Today, the focus on containing Iran is to stall Iran’s development of the bomb for as long as possible and then to limit Iran’s ability to make a lot of nuclear weapons later.
The April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit probably signals that President Obama has yielded to Iran’s ambition to acquire nuclear weapons and has shifted his strategy to contain Iran instead. However, this new version of the Containment strategy has a major flaw: it assumes that today’s current Middle East stability will remain intact indefinitely.
President Obama knows that he cannot just abolish all US nuclear weapons. Such a policy would endanger America’s national security so long as other states have them. So how can Obama win Middle East support in his effort to keep isolating Iran? He is offering a concession to Arab leaders and others who feel...
President Obama needs to decide if Iran’s attempt to acquire nuclear weapons is a “red line” for America. If it is not, then a softer policy vis-à-vis Iran is possible. If it is a red line, then even extreme measures should be considered.
The January and February breakthroughs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have extended to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in March. The Obama administration believes correctly that South Asia’s major crises are linked. It also may think that the Iranian nuclear crisis is linked to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
If Iran gets the bomb, other Middle Eastern states such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey would likely respond by getting the bomb too. Venezuela and non-state militant groups could also acquire nuclear weapons with Iran’s assistance.
The scrapping of the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system, or missile shield, in Eastern Europe must be put in the proper perspective to see what that decision does and does not affect. On a positive note, US-Russia relations will improve slightly and Russia will be encouraged to conclude the nuclear arms treaty with the US...
During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Obama promised to engage America’s enemies. This essentially meant to approach such states as Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Venezuela and restart diplomatic initiatives. Conservatives attacked Obama for this but it must be said that what Obama proposed in theory is what U.S. presidents do all the...
