Description
Book SynopsisThe threat posed by Iran to international peace and security is approaching a crisis. After compiling a thirty-year record as the world's most active supporter of terrorism, Iran seems determined to develop nuclear weapons. In Taking on Iran, Abraham D. Sofaer argues that US policy toward Iran cannot be restricted to a strategy based on the two costly and potentially ineffective options of attacking Iran's nuclear programme or containing a nuclear-armed Iran. Economic sanctions and ineffective diplomacy have failed to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear arms ambitions. Sofaer explains that the United States should add to the pressure on Iran, going beyond economic sanctions and responding forcefully to Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aggression, increasing the likelihood that Iran will negotiate in earnest and enabling the United States to engage Iran in the disciplined manner required for success. The author outlines thirty years of IRGC aggression and the corresponding thir
Table of Contents
- Foreword by George P. Shultz
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Dealing with the Iranian Threat
- Regime Change
- Sanctions
- Negotiations and Direct Appeals
- Preventive Attack or Containment?
- An Alternative to Preventive Attack and Containment
- Chapter 2 Thirty Years of IRGC Aggression
- Lebanon
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Saudi Arabia
- United States
- Attacks on Other States
- Interference with Navigational Rights
- Chapter 3 Thirty Years of US Weakness
- Jimmy Carter
- Ronald Reagan
- George H.W. Bush
- William J. Clinton
- George W. Bush
- Barack Obama
- Chapter 4 Defending Against IRGC Attacks
- Legality of Defending Against IRGC Aggression
- Legitimacy of Defensive Measures Against the IRGC
- Covert Attacks
- Balance of Consequences
- Chapter 5 Beyond Strength: Effective Diplomacy
- Rhetorical Restraint
- Regime Engagement
- Limited Linkage
- A Broad Agenda
- Forum Flexibility
- Conclusion
- Notes
- About the Author
- Index
