Obama Bluffs on Iran, But Must He?

Obama Bluffs on Iran, But Must He?

Much has been made of President Obama’s recent comments on Iran. During an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama said that America is “not taking any option off the table.” This was a reiteration of his State of the Union comment that “America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.” Obama’s explicit acknowledgement of the “military component” as one of the options on the table has been interpreted as a commitment to undertake military action should diplomatic efforts and sanctions not have the desired effects.

 

Indeed, speculations in the media increasingly seem to revolve around the question of when—and not if—the United States would be willing to resort to military action against Iran should other options prove unsuccessful. James Dobbins of the RAND Corporation, for example, commented that Obama’s rhetoric has provided Netanyahu with “rather more explicit . . . commitment to eventually take military action against Iran if Iran persists in pursuing nuclear weapons.” However, Dobbins noted, “Obama has pushed back hard and effectively on the question of timing.” Mark Landler, White House correspondent for The New York Times, similarly observed that Obama has not yet “close[d] the gap” with Netanyahu on the issue of when military force should be exerted (Israel holds that military action should come before Iran acquires the capability to manufacture a bomb rather than before it actually builds one).

 

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