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Is Iran a Bigger Threat than North Korea?

(TIME) Massimo Calabresi - Administration officials admit that they have adopted a policy of containing a nuclear North Korea, even as they say Pyongyang's program is "unacceptable," but they say there's no way they would cave in to containing Iran if Tehran went nuclear. Containing a nuclear North Korea, as the U.S. contained Russia in the Cold War, is possible. Containing a nuclear Iran is not. Japan and South Korea accept the U.S. nuclear umbrella to protect them. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey are unlikely to accept U.S. guarantees of protection against a nuclear Iran, so would pursue their own programs. In addition, the regional politics are different. In the Middle East, Israel has made it clear publicly and privately that it will take military action to stop Iran from going nuclear.
2013-02-13 00:00:00
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