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Iran Strategy Stirs Debate at White House

[New York Times] Helene Cooper and David E. Sanger - A behind-the-scenes debate has broken out within the administration over whether its strategy toward Iran has any hope of reining in its nuclear program. The debate has pitted Secretary of State Rice, who appears to be winning so far, against the few remaining hawks inside the administration, especially those in Vice President Dick Cheney's office who are pressing for greater consideration of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran is emerging as an increasing source of trouble for the Bush administration by inflaming the insurgencies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and in Gaza, where it has provided military and financial support to the militant Islamic group Hamas, which now controls the Gaza Strip. R. Nicholas Burns, an undersecretary of state who is the chief American strategist on Iran, told a closed-door White House meeting that negotiations with Tehran could still be going on when Bush leaves office in January 2009. The hawks in the room reported later that they were deeply unhappy - but not surprised - by Burns's assessment, which they interpreted as a tacit acknowledgment that the Bush administration had no "red line" beyond which Iran would not be permitted to step.
2007-06-18 01:00:00
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