How to Avoid an Israeli-Iranian War

Is war between Israel and Iran inevitable? Certainly one would be left with that impression if one solely listens to Israeli and Iranian hawks. All too often, the voice of the moderate center is lost in all the bluster. Reality is, however, war is not inevitable at all. As Shlomo Ben-Ami, Israel's former foreign minister and I wrote in the Christian Science Monitor yesterday:

Any serious effort to address the Iranian challenge must recognize the true nature of the conflict. There is nothing apocalyptic about the nuclear stand-off or the Israeli-Iranian rivalry. Rather, these are strategically driven conflicts that can be managed and even resolved through the appropriate level of diplomacy.

A give and take is needed between Iran and Israel in which Iran must end its support for violent groups and acknowledge Israel's legitimate security concerns. Israel and the US must accommodate an Iranian role commensurate with its geopolitical weight and use Iran's inclusion into regional political and economic structures to tame Iran's revolutionary impulses.

In the op-ed, we also point out that we must also reject the mindset in which we view military options as guaranteed solutions and diplomatic efforts as guaranteed failures. A military attack on Iran would only lead to Iran leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty, making a crucial decision to go for a bomb and not just the capability for a bomb, and it would kill the Iranian pro-democracy movement.

Consequently, a successful bombing campaign by either the US or Israel would simply guarantee a nuclear armed and vengeful Iran five years down the road. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, said recently that if Iran left the NPT, it could build a nuclear weapon within a year.

You can read the op-ed here.

Comments

[Orlando]

If you think that this would be an "Israeli-Iranian War", please read the words spoken by George W. Bush to the Israeli Knesset on May 15, 2008. Also remember that there are 7 million Israelis and 65 million Iranians. The following is taken from the Whitehouse web site:

George W. Bush--
"Some people suggest if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it. Israel's population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because the United States of America stands with you. (Applause.)

America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapons would be an unforgivable betrayal for future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. (Applause.) "

[JonSmiley]

This is undoubtedly a war being pushed by Israel. Without Israel talk of an attack on Iran would be inconceivable.

[hopeless277]

Diplomacy is for wimps. Peace is for weenies. McCain 08

[Kirby]

Sounds like you'll end up getting one in either one of your major apertures; it seems like you ought to.