Will U.S. Iran Policy Turning Into Bambi Versus Godzilla?
Guess Who’s Godzilla Posted: 10 Aug 2009 07:34 AM PDT By Barry Rubin This is a huge story if understood correctly. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said—correctly but not necessarily accurately—that the United States has no illusions that Iran will return to serious negotiations over its nuclear program. In other words: engagement with Iran won’t work. Or, in Clinton’s words, “We aren’t going to keep this window open forever. ” That implies the two countries will be in an adversarial relationship. The next step is heightened sanctions which means, though no official will admit it, that we are really back to Bush administration policy on Iran. On the positive side, Obama administration people can say that their government is more popular in the region; on the negative side it is perceived as weaker. The Middle East prefers stronger and less popular. I said that Clinton was correct but not necessarily accurate. What I mean is that her evaluation is right but may not be shared by ma
