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1521. Fighting Iran in Iraq

Author:
Jeffrey White
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
The February 11 intelligence briefing in Baghdad revealed specific information about the transfer of weapons and weapons technology to Iranian allies in Iraq. This has furthered an extensive discussion of Iran's role in Iraq, especially as it relates to violence in the region. The involvement of Iran's clerical regime in Iraq is not new, or simple. It can be measured in decades, and is multifaceted and comprehensive, demanding an equally broad response from the United States and U.S. allies.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Iran, Middle East, and Baghdad

1522. The Mecca Accord (Part II): Implications for Arabs, Israel, and U.S. Policy

Author:
Robert Satloff
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
The Fatah-Hamas unity agreement reached in Mecca last week has powerful implications for all regional players. The most serious challenge it poses is to U.S. diplomacy.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, and Mecca

1523. Iran Feels the Heat: International Pressure Emboldens Tehran's Domestic Critics

Author:
Mehdi Khalaji
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
As international pressure on the Iranian government toughens, the Iranian regime is facing more fragmentation at home. In an unprecedented action against a sitting president, 150 of the 290 members of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) signed a letter blaming President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad for raging inflation and high unemployment, and criticizing his travel to Latin America at a time when he has not sent the Majlis a draft budget for the fiscal year that starts March 21. Under Iranian law, this letter constitutes the first step required if the Majlis wants to remove the president from office.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, and Latin America

1524. Argentina on Kirchner's Time

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Since its financial crisis six years ago, Argentina has faded somewhat from the headlines. This is no doubt due in large part to the disproportionate space our media outlets now devote to Iraq and Iran, but also to the fact that other Latin American news stories—particularly Fidel Castro's surgery and the antics of Venezuela's clownish president Hugo Chávez—have dominated coverage of the area. Argentina is not, however, a negligent regional actor.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Iraq, Iran, Argentina, South America, Latin America, and Venezuela

1525. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Author:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran delivers a keynote address and participates in a question and answer session moderated by John H. Coatsworth, Acting Dean, School of International and Public Affairs.
Topic:
Human Rights, Islam, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

1526. Understanding the Iranian Nuclear Equation

Author:
Jason J. Blackstock and Manjana Milkoreit
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Since mid-2005, the Iranian regime has embarked on a course of aggressive and public brinksmanship regarding its domestic nuclear program. This article explores this new Iranian behavior by first elucidating the range of strategic variables comprising the Iranian nuclear equation and then evaluating how recent evolutions in the international and domestic environments have altered the influence of the equation’s different variables. The analysis demonstrates that Iran’s recent brinksmanship gambit was driven largely by the regime’s desire to use the nuclear issue to garner domestic public support, and was enabled by the growing perceived inability of the international community to enact effective coercive measures against Iran. The article culminates with a recommendation that U.S. and EU policymakers seriously evaluate the hitherto dismissed alternative of accepting nuclear fuel cycle facilities on Iranian soil under the control of a multinational or international consortium. Emphasis is placed on the importance of considering such alternatives before Iran achieves nuclear technological independence.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Science and Technology, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

1527. Iran’s Nuclear Challenge

Author:
Colin Dueck and Ray Takeyh
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
COLIN DUECK and RAY TAKEYH describe the political, ideological and security motivations behind Iran’s nuclear program and examine various strategic alternatives available to the United States. They conclude that the United States should pursue comprehensive, direct negotiations with Tehran on the nuclear issue, within an overarching framework of containment.
Topic:
Security, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Power, Negotiation, and Containment
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, and United States of America

1528. The U.S. and Iran After the NIE

Author:
Farideh Farhi
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
The release of the National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities, intentions, and policies created shock waves as well as sighs of relief in Washington and elsewhere. The assessment that Iran stopped its weapons program in 2003, and that its declared enrichment program cannot be converted as easily or as quickly as assumed for use in a military program, immediately brought into question the notion that Iran’s nuclear program needs to be dealt with immediately and only through coercive mechanisms. Amid a notable amount of “spinning” the NIE’s conclusions, a slew of questions are in play regarding if and how the U.S. should alter its hard-edged policies toward the Islamic Republic. A consensus seems to have developed that the report has taken the military option off the table and made the sanctions process at play in the U.N. Security Council more difficult to pursue effectively. These dynamics gave longstanding proponents of direct and unconditional dialogue with Iran new opportunity to re-state their case.1 Calls for such negotiations also came from surprising new corners. In the words of Robert Kagan, co-founder of the hawkish Project for the New American Century, “it is hard to see what other policy options are available. This is the hand that has been dealt. The Bush administration needs to be smart and creative enough to play it well.”2
Topic:
Security, Intelligence, Nuclear Weapons, United Nations, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

1529. "Democratic Bomb": Failed Strategy

Author:
George Perkovich
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Instead of treating nuclear weapons and materials as problems wherever they exist, the Bush administration has pursued a “democratic bomb” strategy, bending nonproliferation rules for friendly democracies and refusing to negotiate directly with “evil” nondemocratic regimes such as North Korea and Iran. Yet regime change and democratization cannot solve major proliferation challenges in the necessary timeframe and actually can make them worse. Nonproliferation should take precedence over democratization. Universal rules remain essential and must be invigorated, which requires cooperation with major powers that differ on democracy.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Democratization, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
Iran and North Korea

1530. The Bottom Line on Iran: The Costs and Benefits of Preventive War versus Deterrence

Author:
Justin Logan
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
It appears increasingly likely that the Bush administration's diplomatic approach to Iran will fail to prevent Iran from going nuclear and that the United States will have to decide whether to use military force to attempt to delay Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapons capability. Some analysts have already been promoting air strikes against Iran, and the Bush administration has pointed out repeatedly that the military option is “on the table.” This paper examines the options available to the United States in the face of a prospective final diplomatic collapse.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Economics, and War
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, and Middle East