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Why Iran Can't Be Contained

(Washington Post) Danielle Pletka - Iran is proceeding with an aggressive nuclear weapons program, and much of the Obama administration has come to terms with that reality. Official Washington has resigned itself to pursuing a containment policy that some argue will limit Iran's ability to proliferate, terrorize and otherwise exploit being a nuclear power. But it is wrong to think a nuclear Iran can be contained. The containment argument runs along Cold War lines: The price of breakout is too high; the regime cares only about power, not about using weapons; containment will be simple because the Arabs are so scared of Iran they'll do anything to help us; Ahmadinejad doesn't have his finger on the button. In fact, these arguments are either false or misleading. Privately, Obama administration officials confess that they believe Israeli action will preempt our policy debate, as Israel's tolerance for an Iranian nuke is significantly lower than our own. But subcontracting American national security to Israel is an appalling notion, and we cannot assume that an Israeli action would not provoke a wider regional conflict into which the U.S. would be drawn. The writer is vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
2009-12-15 08:13:12
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