Column: Determining a new way forward with Iran
Sarah Esty
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: News
President Obama's administration recently announced that it would not require Iran to cease uranium enrichment as a prerequisite for talks. This reflects a welcome change in policy from the Bush administration. Decades of sanctions-and a refusal to engage with Iran unless it met stringent preconditions-failed to stop its nuclear enrichment program. While Iran suspended its official nuclear weapons program in 2003, we still face a dangerous situation today.
Iran possesses the knowledge and capability to enrich enough uranium to make one or two bombs a year, and it already has 2,200 pounds of low-enriched uranium-enough for one bomb upon further enrichment. The international community lacks sufficient oversight to be sure the Iranians are not operating a covert weapons program at this very moment and has no assurances that they will not resume their official weapons program at any time.
A nuclear Iran poses a serious threat to America and the international order. While much speculation about the dangers of a nuclear Iran focuses on the potential for Iran to use a nuclear bomb against American forces abroad or our homeland, the greater threat comes from the cascading effect of a nuclear Iran in the region and on the international stage.
In January, news surfaced that Israel secretly approached the Bush administration last year seeking flyover rights in Iraq and bunker-busting bombs to use in a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear sites. This should be cause for grave concern, because, given America's ties to Israel, if Israel were to launch a preemptive strike against Iran, America would almost certainly be drawn into an explosive conflict.
Furthermore, a nuclear Iran poses a potential threat to its neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, with which it is jockeying for control of the region and has longstanding religious disagreements. A bomb in Tehran might push Riyadh to seek one as well, which could start a nuclear armament race in the Middle East as Egypt, Turkey and Iraq scramble to keep up. This is the last thing that the region needs.
Iran possesses the knowledge and capability to enrich enough uranium to make one or two bombs a year, and it already has 2,200 pounds of low-enriched uranium-enough for one bomb upon further enrichment. The international community lacks sufficient oversight to be sure the Iranians are not operating a covert weapons program at this very moment and has no assurances that they will not resume their official weapons program at any time.
A nuclear Iran poses a serious threat to America and the international order. While much speculation about the dangers of a nuclear Iran focuses on the potential for Iran to use a nuclear bomb against American forces abroad or our homeland, the greater threat comes from the cascading effect of a nuclear Iran in the region and on the international stage.
In January, news surfaced that Israel secretly approached the Bush administration last year seeking flyover rights in Iraq and bunker-busting bombs to use in a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear sites. This should be cause for grave concern, because, given America's ties to Israel, if Israel were to launch a preemptive strike against Iran, America would almost certainly be drawn into an explosive conflict.
Furthermore, a nuclear Iran poses a potential threat to its neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, with which it is jockeying for control of the region and has longstanding religious disagreements. A bomb in Tehran might push Riyadh to seek one as well, which could start a nuclear armament race in the Middle East as Egypt, Turkey and Iraq scramble to keep up. This is the last thing that the region needs.
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sunvalleyus
posted 8/20/09 @ 5:03 AM EST
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