Friday Iran Talking Points

from LobeLog: News and Views Relevant to U.S.-Iran relations for December 10th, 2010:

The Journal of International Security Affairs: Senior Heritage Foundation fellow Peter Brookes writes in the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) journal that Arab concerns over Iran’s nuclear program “is increasingly palpable in the Middle East, where a dangerous domino effect is taking shape.” Brookes acknowledges that stopping Iran’s nuclear program with a military strike “may delay, but not derail” Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, Brookes predicts Tehran will increase support for Hamas and Hezbollah, “further roiling the region’s security situation, especially for arch-nemesis Israel.” Brookes concludes, “Unless Tehran changes course, or is compelled to abandon its nuclear program, the Middle East may be bound for a destabilizing explosion of nuclear weapons-capable states and more dangerous times ahead.”

The Wall Street Journal: Michael Auslin, director of Japan studies at the American Enterprise Institute, examines the implications of Turkey’s growing relationship with China and asks, “Could Mr. Erdogan’s ties to Iran somehow facilitate future North Korean-Iranian missile and possibly nuclear cooperation, even as Turkey begins to have its own civilian nuclear power plants built?” Auslin suggests that Western policy analysts should examine the “possible scenarios of greater Sino-Turkish ties and play out the ramifications of an enhanced anti-Western network of states.” Auslin calls for Turkey to return back to its “old and trusted partners” and warns that if Ankara continues to ally itself with “authoritarian regimes, such as China, Syria, and Iran then Turkey will quickly find itself isolated from the liberal West.”

FoxNews.com: Reza Kahlili, a former CIA spy in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard writing under a pseudonym for hawkish media, attempts to build on the discredited assertion that the WikiLeaks cables offer evidence of North Korean and Iranian collusion on nuclear technology. “The radicals in Iran are very close to successfully weaponizing their missiles with nuclear warheads and have openly talked about a ‘New World Order’ where Israel ceases to exist and America will no longer be the superpower that it is today,” warns Kahlili. He concludes, “America needs leadership, courage and commitment to our fundamental principles. It is time to side with and the Iranian people. It is time to help Iranians overthrow this regime. If we do, it will go a long way toward winning a peaceful future for the world. If we don’t, millions of lives could be lost.”