U.S., allies should accept a nuclear-armed Iran

By Robert F. Dorr - Special to Air Force Times

An attack on Iran is coming — if you believe what some analysts in the nation’s capital are saying.
Israel, they predict, will make a pre-emptive strike to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon — and probably sooner rather than later if U.S. conservatives rack up big gains in the Nov. 2 elections.
Let’s hope the pundits are wrong because the Air Force will almost certainly be drawn into the fight — and it doesn’t need to help wage another ill-fated war.
“I’m worried we’re being sucked into something,” said a senior-ranking airman who works on the F-22 Raptor. “It isn’t in our interest.”
The airman is right, even though leaders around the world insist a nuclear-armed Iran poses an unacceptable threat to stability.
The U.S., indeed, has real issues with Iran. It played an unsettling role in Iraq and it may have been behind the June 25, 1996, attack on the Khobar Towers complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 airmen and one Saudi — a vicious bombing for which no one has been apprehended.
But Iran is also a modern, educated country made up of young adults with diverse opinions. Millions — more interested in blue jeans and rock music than in confrontation — would welcome improved relations with the U.S. An attack might permanently sidetrack this potential for good will. To the average person in the Middle East, an attack from Israel rather than from the U.S. is a distinction without a difference.
The U.S. should shift policy, decide to accept and live with a nuclear-armed Iran and persuade other nations to do the same.
The reason is simple. Iran might be slowed but it cannot be stopped from building a nuclear weapon. Its research labs and plants are scattered, buried and reinforced. An attack would slow development of a nuclear bomb but not halt it.
Until now, nuclear weapons have conferred stability, not undermined it. No nation — except the U.S. — has employed an atomic bomb against another. Having nukes would almost certainly encourage Iran to behave better.
Although many Americans want to support Israel, the feeling is not universal. A big reason is the size of the check the U.S. is writing. Just one example: Israel’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program, estimated at $30 billion, will be paid for by American taxpayers.
Washington has an opportunity here. President Obama should publicly and privately disavow any intention of attacking Iran. In the strongest possible language, U.S. officials should tell Israeli leaders — in front of the cameras — to back off.
Americans can live with an atomic-armed Iran. The consequences of a reckless and irresponsible military strike — maybe not.
The people in Tehran aren’t the ones to be feared. There are some in Washington, though, who should be.
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Robert F. Dorr is an Air Force veteran and a retired U.S. diplomat. Zenith Press will publish his book “Mission to Berlin” in March. Dorr’s e-mail address is  robert.f.dorr@cox.net.

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Spread to the sensible and senseless everywhere. General Joe