(Washington Post) Jackson Diehl - Sanctions, sabotage and the threat of military action, combined with good intelligence and international inspections, have prevented Iran from building a weapon for the last dozen years. While it's possible that Iran would respond to a collapse in the talks by building bombs, that wouldn't be in keeping with its previous practice. Nor would it be easy to carry off at a time when the economy is being hammered by plummeting oil revenue as well as sanctions. Obama's negotiations with Iran are not just about whether it will obtain a nuclear weapon; they are about the future of the Middle East. Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution, a former Obama Mideast envoy, argues that "it is fanciful to imagine that the United States could convince Iran to shift from the region's most threatening revisionist power and become instead a partner in establishing a new order." He favors a U.S. strategy of rebuilding stability with its traditional allies.
2015-03-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive