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Iran and the Problem of Tactical Myopia
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FOCUS Editorial
- Eliminate NATO’s Nuclear Relics
Features
- * Taking Stock of the NPT: An Interview With U.S. Special Representative Susan Burk
- * Life at 40: Prospects for the NPT and the 2010 Review Conference by Patricia Lewis
- * South Korean Reprocessing: An Unnecessary Threat to the Nonproliferation Regime by Frank N. von Hippel
- * Looking Back: Good News and Bad News on The NPT by Michael Krepon and Samuel Black
The Middle East and Africa
- * IAEA Cites Possible Iran Warhead Efforts
- * Iran Raising Uranium-Enrichment Level
- * Senate Targets Iran’s Oil Suppliers
Europe and the Former Soviet Union
- * Ministers Urge NATO Nuclear Policy Review
- * Russian Nuclear Threshold Not Lowered
- * New START Near “Finish Line,” Timing Unclear
The United States and the Americas
- * U.S. Taps Romania for Missile Defense
- * Obama Budget Highlights Stockpile Work
- * NNSA Nonproliferation Funding Poised to Rise
The World
- * Cluster Convention Set to Enter Into Force
- * Pakistan Raises New Issues at Stalled CD
Asia and Australia
- * Outreach to North Korea Continues
- * U.S.-Taiwan Arms Deal Angers China
2 comments:
The article states:
Ongoing turmoil in Iran’s domestic politics may give Tehran new incentives to settle disputes with the outside world so that it can focus on internal concerns.
This is a weak argument. Governments facing internal difficulties may welcome international tensions, which allows them to brand the opposition as traitors.
The article's authors have missed two fundamental points. First, the current regime in Iran is entirely dependent on its Islamist foundation for its legitimacy. This requires the regime to maintain a hostile anti-western orientation. Accordingly, it cannot be seen as compromising with the west on any key issues, most of all the nuclear question, without undermining its own legitimacy. Second, because of this, the goal cannot simply be a nuclear-free Iran; rather, the goal must be regime change. The reason we oppose nuclear arms in Iran is because of the nature of the regime. Even if we succeeded in forestalling Iranian acquisition of nuclear arms, we would still be faced with a regime that supports terrorism, disrupts the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, undermines stability in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, and abuses human rights on a widespread and systematic basis.
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