[Jerusalem Post] Emily B. Landau - In the past, the lack of international determination was skillfully exploited by Iran to gain the valuable time it needed to push its nuclear program forward. Even facing Obama's attempt to reach out, Iran continues to stall, playing for time. Obama's policies may defuse the nuclear crisis not by getting Iran to back away from its nuclear ambitions, but by containing it through deterrence, and limiting its potential to cause direct damage with nuclear missiles by beefing up missile defense capabilities throughout the region. But this would not indicate success - it would rather signify failure. It would also leave the Middle East exposed to the major fear that states in the region harbor - not a calculated Iranian attempt to strike with nuclear weapons, but rather the enhanced and dangerous regional clout that Iran would gain by achieving nuclear status. Indications of the havoc that Iran can wreak are already being felt region-wide. The writer is director of the Arms Control and Regional Security Project at the Institute for National Security Studies of Tel Aviv University.
2009-04-20 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive