[Mb-civic] Iran's challenge - Boston Globe Editorial

[William Swiggard]

  Iran's challenge

April 13, 2006  |  Editorial  |  The Boston Globe

IRAN'S THEATRICALLY staged announcement Tuesday that it has begun 
enriching uranium coincides with reports that the Bush administration 
has been updating plans for air and missile strikes against Iranian 
nuclear sites. The implications of these two disclosures ought to have a 
sobering effect on policy makers in both Tehran and Washington.

The prideful claim about enrichment made by President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad of Iran may suggest the Iranian regime is every bit as 
determined to develop a nuclear weapons capability as the Bush 
administration, its allies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency 
have long suspected. But for the purpose of shaping a sound strategy, 
the crucial conclusions to draw are that Iran's clerical regime cannot 
be easily deflected from its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and Iran's 
rulers are intent not to appear intimidated by hints of an American 
recourse to military force.

Even if diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power 
might benefit from a credible threat of force, this week's confluence of 
events should lead to a reconsideration of President Bush's approach. To 
set back Iran's nuclear program for even a short period, military 
strikes would have to destroy not merely scores of suspected nuclear 
sites, but also Iran's air defenses, airfields, and missile launchers. 
More expansive target lists would also include command and control 
locations as well as Revolutionary Guard headquarters and Iran's 
political leadership.

Bush should be asking what kinds of retaliation the Iranian regime would 
be likely to launch; whether the upshot would be an even greater Iranian 
determination to pursue nuclear weapons; and whether another US military 
venture in the Gulf region might not be a disaster for US interests.

For their part, Iran's rulers need to understand the danger of 
overplaying their hand. Their refusal to comply with IAEA requirements 
and to honor agreements with their European negotiating partners can 
have harmful consequences. Even in the absence of a US military strike, 
Iran's refusal thus far to accept the reasonable offer of a guaranteed 
supply of nuclear fuel from Russia for use in Iranian nuclear power 
plants may bring about international isolation and economic sanctions.

If there is a way to avoid a perilous confrontation, it may lie in 
Iranian suggestions, both public and private, of an interest in direct 
US-Iranian negotiations. If Bush has learned anything from past 
blunders, he will put aside any qualms he may have about the odious 
regime in Tehran and explore the possibilities of a deal that grants 
Iran security guarantees and economic benefits as compensation for 
halting its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Distasteful as such a deal may 
be, the alternatives are far worse.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/04/13/irans_challenge/
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