Obama: The clock is ticking

[propaganda alert]


1) US President Obama: The clock is ticking (26 June 2009)
2) US President Obama: By the end of this year there must be some real progress (2 June 2009)
3) Brookings Institution: Options for a new American strategy toward Iran (23 June 2009)

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“[The Iranian people’s] bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of justice. The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. […] There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks. […]

[W]e have a continuing set of national security interests that are going to have to be dealt with because the clock is ticking. Iran is developing nuclear capacity at a fairly rapid clip; […] Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons would trigger an arms race in the Middle East that would be bad not just for U.S. security, it would be bad for the security of the entire region,”


[US President Barack Obama, joint press conference with German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, The White House, Washington DC, 26 June 2009]

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/clinton-we-hope-the-outcome-reflects-the-genuine-will-and-desire-of-the-iranian-people/

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BBC: What the Israelis say is that they have managed to persuade you at least to concentrate on Iran and to give what, behind the scenes, they’re calling it a bit of an ultimatum to the Iranians: By the end of this year there must be some real progress.

OBAMA: Well, the only thing I’d correct on that is I don’t think the Israelis needed to convince me of that, since I’ve been talking about it for the last two years


[US President Barack Obama, BBC Interview, 2 June 2009]

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/obama-merkel-visit-buchenwald-concentration-camp-elie-wiesel-after-touring-concentration-camp/

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 http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2009/06_iran_strategy /06_iran_strategy.pdf


Which path to Persia?
Options for a new American strategy toward Iran

by Kenneth M. Pollack, Daniel L. Byman, Martin Indyk, Suzanne Maloney, Michael E. O’Hanlon, Bruce Riedel

Brookings Institution, 23 June 2009


excerpt:

“The passage of time lends urgency to the need for an effective new Iran policy. The Obama Administration may well have the last opportunity to try many of the policy options detailed in this study.

The November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear program warned that it was possible (albeit “very unlikely”) that Iran might be able to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon by 2009, although the period 2010-2015 was a more likely time frame.”


TABLE OF CONTENTS


introduction

The trouble with Tehran: US policy options toward Iran 1


part I

Dissuading Tehran: the diplomatic options 21

chapter 1: An offer Iran shouldn’t refuse: persuasion 23
chapter 2: Tempting Tehran: the engagement option 42


part II

Disarming Tehran: the military options 61

chapter 3: Going all the way: invasion 63
chapter 4: The Osiraq option: airstrikes 74
chapter 5: Leave it to Bibi [i.e. Israeli PM Netanyahu] : allowing or encouraging an Israeli military strike 89


part III

Toppling Tehran: regime change 101

chapter 6: The velvet revolution: supporting a popular uprising 103
chapter 7: Inspiring an insurgency: supporting Iranian minority and opposition groups 113
chapter 8: The coup: supporting a military move against the regime 122


part IV

Deterring Tehran: containment 129

chapter 9: Accepting the unacceptable: containment 131


conclusion

Crafting an integrated Iran policy: connecting the options 145

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