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Obama Gambles in Bid to Defuse Nuclear Standoff with Iran

(New York Times) David E. Sanger - As President Obama adds economic pressure and military containment to force Iran's leadership to negotiate on its nuclear program, he is betting that he can win global agreement on a set of sanctions that are strong enough to convince Iran that its nuclear ambitions are not worth the price. He is also betting that he can win over the reluctant Chinese, by convincing them that sanctions are a better alternative than instability and oil cutoffs. Other elements of the strategy that the White House does not discuss publicly are: the placement of anti-missile defenses in four countries around the Persian Gulf, and stepped-up covert action against the country's nuclear program. But "isolating" a country diplomatically does not necessarily translate into changing its behavior. North Korea, Cuba and Myanmar have been economically isolated for decades, with little effect. "The history of sanctions suggests it is nearly impossible to craft them to compel a government to change on an issue it sees as vital to national security," said Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
2010-02-11 08:53:03
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