Iran’s Nuclear Program: Does the U.S. Have a Strategy?

Jeffrey Chatterton / April 19, 2010

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Robert Gates had sent a secret memo to the White House that warned that the administration does not have an effective policy to deal with the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Gates responded by asserting that his memo intended “to contribute to an orderly and timely decision-making process.”

Supporters of President Obama’s engagement policy argued that if Tehran rejected U.S. diplomacy, Iran’s belligerence would become obvious to the international community, justifying a more aggressive policy that would have strong international backing. There are two flaws with this thinking.

First, the White House apparently lacks a long-range strategy to deal with Iran now that engagement has clearly failed. (more…)