United States Policy Toward Iran: Avoiding Miscalculation

Abstract

At no other time in the last 27 years have Iran and the U.S. been poised to take such prolific opposing action. The current nuclear stalemate between the two is a two edged sword; offering a confrontation that's a lose-lose situation for both or perhaps, a window of opportunity to meaningful dialogue. United States policy options dealing with Iran must employ all elements of national power, but the main effort should focus on diplomacy, not military force. Given an estimated timeline of 5-10 years before Iran has enough material and know-how to build a bomb, the best approach to dealing with Iran is through diplomacy. The future stability of the Middle East depends upon both Tehran's and Washington's willingness to take advantage of this opportunity for meaningful reconciliation. United States policy in the Middle East must focus on containing Iran through bilateral diplomacy supported by China and Russia. Iran's pursuit of nuclear energy along with a capability to produce nuclear weapons has fueled a fire in the international community that is approaching a tipping point.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 28, 2007
Accession Number
ADA470409

Entities

People

  • John Kulifay

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Economic Sanctions
  • Foreign Relations
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • National Security
  • Negotiations
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Recreation
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies