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The Message Hagel Carries on Iran

(Washington Post) Robert Satloff - Achieving success in nuclear negotiations requires the administration's full commitment to increasingly painful sanctions, a credible threat of military force and a reasonable diplomatic alternative. This approach may not be sufficient; Iran may be bent on achieving a nuclear weapon. The looming fight over former Sen. Chuck Hagel's confirmation has obscured the strategic repercussion of the nomination. That Obama chose a Pentagon nominee whose public record differs from his own on this critical issue says more about the president than it does about the nominee. Quite apart from the internal U.S. debate over Hagel's worthiness to run the Defense Department, foreign leaders will have serious questions about the credibility of the president's commitment to prevention. To the world, Obama has spoken loudly with his choice of a nominee who has never embraced the idea that Iran should be stopped at all costs from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The writer is executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2013-01-18 00:00:00
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