A New Issue, A New Outlook, A New War?

With the Bush Administration nearing its end, presidential nominees Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama have developed plans for a staged withdrawal of troops from the Middle East. However, with Iran’s recent nuclear threats, it poses the question, “Is America now nearing a war with Iran.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently accused Iran of "pursuing nuclear technologies that can lead to a nuclear weapon.” Iran claims their developments are for peace-keeping reasons alone; however, nuclear weapons pose a threat to all mankind and the issue should not be taken lightly. By proliferating nuclear weapons, Iran would be violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been signed by a total of 187 parties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. As a world power, America must take a stand on the issue, but they should take all necessary measures to avoid war.

According to CNN, Iran’s current exploration with uranium deposits has forced the United States government to impose stiff sanctions, targeting two Iranian military groups and a number of Iranian banks. An Iranian agency known as the Quds Force has been suspected of having direct ties to the training and arming of Shiite militias in Iraq, proof of Iran’s backing of terrorism. United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has also revealed that "Iran funnels hundreds of millions of dollars each year through the international financial system to terrorists.” To combat the issue, the United States has called on numerous Iranian banks to end business relations with government officials. America is currently fighting the “War on Terror”, which is exactly why we should continue to place even harsher sanctions on not only Iran, but also on other nations supporting terrorism. Sanctions do not directly result in bloodshed; therefore, America should continue this process until war is absolutely necessary.

As of now, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is not taking America’s sanctions seriously; however, I believe threats from America and other allies would force the Iranian government to step down, just as Iran’s nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani did this past Saturday. His resignation could possibly make talks that much more difficult due to his moderate views, but it could also mark the first step in Iran’s disengagement of nuclear activity.

I feel that at this point in time the United States government has taken the essential steps to end Iran’s nuclear developments. Backing by the United Nations Security Council and the European Union will play a major role in bringing the uranium enrichment program to a halt. Rice later stated that “if Iran’s rulers choose to continue down a path of confrontation, the United States will act with the international community to resist these threats of the Iranian regime.” There is no evidence that the Iranian government has nuclear weapons at this time, and Vice President Dick Cheney assured Americans that the United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. What would be the point of attacking a nation on the premise of nuclear war if they do not possess nuclear weapons? For this reason, America should continue to take a diplomatic approach to the situation.