Quality Leadership Weblog :-)

POST: Obama and McCain spar on Iran

No talks between us and Iran prevent the reach for the bomb
Why do we get so wobbly over Iran? We have met this package (nation-state/failed revolutionary power talking trash and sporting new nukes) twice before and finessed it nicely (and frankly, both the USSR and PRC were far more successful).

We learn to accept our lack of leverage here or we’re going to be consistently flabbergasted at our lack of success–as in, more of the same old, same old.

Our problem remains the same: we are unable to see the strategic reality for what it is and we’re

This posting in contrast with the article:  Prepare to Attack, (USA Today)…Daniel Pipes, June 11, 2008 , Pg. 10

Daniel Pipes (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the Middle East Forum think tank and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution.

…Only by convincing Tehran that it will never be allowed to have nuclear weapons can Washington persuade it to terminate its program, avoiding the need for a military campaign. This can yet be attained, but it requires a basic shift in U.S. policy.

First, the Bush administration must prepare for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and, second, signal this publicly. (Israeli leaders should do likewise, as some have done already.) Third, the administration must weather the inevitable tsunami of criticism. Fourth, it should encourage those governments most opposed to such an attack — including the European Union, Russia and China — to lean on Tehran to end its nuclear program.

If George W. Bush’s term ends with a McCain victory, Bush will likely punt, allowing McCain to decide on the next steps. But Obama’s intention to continue with current failed policies suggests that, if he wins, and despite the tradition of outgoing presidents not undertaking major initiatives, Bush might initiate military action against Iran.

Daniel Pipes (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the Middle East Forum think tank and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution.