In the next couple of months, the US Congress will debate
whether the Iranian nuclear deal is likely to work
as arms control. But the
bigger debate is whether the agreement, with its relaxation of sanctions, means
America is halfhearted — at most — in confronting Iranian sponsorship of so
much of the violent chaos that is spreading across the Middle East. That is why
the US should choose this moment to develop a serious, full-bodied strategy to
defeat the barbaric Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in Syria as
well as Iraq.
This strategy confronts Iranian ambitions in both places and would therefore be the ideal companion to diplomacy that stops an Iranian nuclear threat. Such an exertion of US power to build a powerful coalition would reassure many in Washington and around the world who are ambivalent about the deal. It would also be the right move to protect America and its allies.
The terrorist danger Isis presents is rising towards the level that al-Qaeda presented in the years immediately before the 9/11 attacks on the US. Leaders should ask themselves: if Isis carries out a truly catastrophic attack, in the region or in America, what would they wish they had done before that day? Those post-catastrophe plans must be prepared now, before such an event. Surely no one thinks the current level of effort really is all America could or would do.
As executive director of the 9/11 Commission, I saw that cycle of horror, recrimination and reaction close up. I remember all too well what people wished they had done in the preceding years. There were political and military options short of an invasion and indefinite occupation of Afghanistan but they were deemed too risky. So, having refused to take limited risks to prevent a catastrophe, Americans have paid and are still paying a far heavier price.
A powerful coalition to defeat Isis must lead with a new political strategy before the military one. And that means confronting Iranian ambitions.more
This strategy confronts Iranian ambitions in both places and would therefore be the ideal companion to diplomacy that stops an Iranian nuclear threat. Such an exertion of US power to build a powerful coalition would reassure many in Washington and around the world who are ambivalent about the deal. It would also be the right move to protect America and its allies.
The terrorist danger Isis presents is rising towards the level that al-Qaeda presented in the years immediately before the 9/11 attacks on the US. Leaders should ask themselves: if Isis carries out a truly catastrophic attack, in the region or in America, what would they wish they had done before that day? Those post-catastrophe plans must be prepared now, before such an event. Surely no one thinks the current level of effort really is all America could or would do.
As executive director of the 9/11 Commission, I saw that cycle of horror, recrimination and reaction close up. I remember all too well what people wished they had done in the preceding years. There were political and military options short of an invasion and indefinite occupation of Afghanistan but they were deemed too risky. So, having refused to take limited risks to prevent a catastrophe, Americans have paid and are still paying a far heavier price.
A powerful coalition to defeat Isis must lead with a new political strategy before the military one. And that means confronting Iranian ambitions.more
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