December 1st, 2009 by Zack

Michael Allen has written that the U.S. needs to develop a twin-track strategy on strategy that addresses the nuclear issue and responds to Iran’s intensifying ideological “cold war” on the country’s democrats. He relates Paula J. Dobriansky and Christian Whiton’s sentiment that the U.S. should “use the European Union, Iran’s largest trading partner, to engage the regime while also supporting the opposition.”

Micah Zenko argues that the recent IAEA report on Iran shows that the world is at a day of reckoning.  He argues that Iran could go nuclear at any moment and that we should prepare for a high-risk military attack from Israel, catalyzing further instability.  The Financial Times argues that the U.S. does well to keep the Geneva process open, but the Security Council should prepare sanctions.

The NY Times reports on a panel discussion between Charles S. Robb, Daniel R. Coats, and Charles Wald, authors of a report for the Bipartisan Policy Center.   The three men stressed a literal reading of the President Obama’s will to stop Iran’s nuclear drive and the need for the U.S. to address its credibility gap in its ability to use force.  Wald and Robb disagreed on the necessity of attacking Iran, while Wald put forth the idea that should sanctions fail the U.S. will likely resort to a  mixture of containment and deterrence.

Masssoumeh Torfeh argues that military and economic sanctions are extremely precarious in terms of strategy and effectiveness, instead “the most viable path for the international community remains the defence of human rights in Iran and support for the fledgling opposition movement in challenging Ahmadinejad’s presidential mandate.”  Mona Charen quotes Michael Ledeen saying that Obama is deluding himself by “genuflecting” and reaching out to the Iranian mullahs.  Instead, he should offer strong moral support to the Iranian people, who are huge consumers of international media, and destroy Iranian weapon assembly sites that supply America’s adversaries.

These arguments come as the NY Times reports that Iran has seized a British yacht from the Persian Gulf and are holding the crew of five, with the regime promising firm action if they are found guilty.  David Keyes explores President Ahmadinejad’s personal blog in which he takes a page from Yasser Arafat by offering platitudes in English and inciting violence in Farsi.

Lastly, Inside Tehran has released its latest edition.  The current issue features articles about Ahmedinejad’s declining popularity in rural areas, Iranian efforts to suppress protests abroad, and analysis of Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli’s decision to resign in protest.

Posted in Diplomacy, Events, Human Rights, Iran, Public Opinion, Publications, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions |