Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolten intensified the call for an Israeli strike on Iran in an editorial today in the Washington Post. The post-election uprisings in Iran increased sentiment that regime change could result in a halt to the Iranian nuclear program. Bolten criticizes the new administration’s approach that would likely permit a peaceful civil nuclear program in Iran. He contends that unless drastic measures are taken, Iran will obtain a nuclear weapon that could prove exceedingly dangerous to the rest of the world. Notably, Bolten writes:
“Accordingly, with no other timely option, the already compelling logic for an Israeli strike is nearly inexorable. Israel is undoubtedly ratcheting forward its decision-making process. President Obama is almost certainly not.”…
“Those who oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons are left in the near term with only the option of targeted military force against its weapons facilities. Significantly, the uprising in Iran also makes it more likely that an effective public diplomacy campaign could be waged in the country to explain to Iranians that such an attack is directed against the regime, not against the Iranian people. This was always true, but it has become even more important to make this case emphatically, when the gulf between the Islamic revolution of 1979 and the citizens of Iran has never been clearer or wider. Military action against Iran’s nuclear program and the ultimate goal of regime change can be worked together consistently.
Otherwise, be prepared for an Iran with nuclear weapons, which some, including Obama advisers, believe could be contained and deterred. That is not a hypothesis we should seek to test in the real world. The cost of error could be fatal.”