Taking on Iran: Strength, Diplomacy, and the Iranian Threat

Taking on Iran: Strength, Diplomacy, and the Iranian Threat

by Abraham D. Sofaer
Taking on Iran: Strength, Diplomacy, and the Iranian Threat

Taking on Iran: Strength, Diplomacy, and the Iranian Threat

by Abraham D. Sofaer

Hardcover(Updated Edition)

$19.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Not Eligible for Free Shipping
    Usually ships within 6 days
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Abraham D. Sofaer argues that US policy toward Iran cannot safely be restricted to a strategy that considers only the two high-risk, costly, and potentially infeasible options of a preventive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities or containing a nuclear-armed Iran. Instead, the United States should respond forcefully to Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aggression, enhancing its credibility and increasing the likelihood that Iran will negotiate in earnest. The United States must also be prepared to engage Iran in a disciplined manner, avoiding disabling preconditions and adopting the negotiating practices used successfully by the United States when dealing with the Soviet Union during the 1980s.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780817916343
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
Publication date: 07/01/2013
Series: Hoover Institution Press Publications
Edition description: Updated Edition
Pages: 200
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Abraham D. Sofaer, who served as legal adviser to the US Department of State from 1985 to 1990, was appointed the first George P. Shultz Distinguished Scholar and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution in 1994. During his service as legal adviser, he was responsible for US/Iran negotiations at the Iran/US Tribunal in The Hague.

Table of Contents

Foreword by George P. Shultz vii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Dealing with the Iranian Threat 5
      Regime Change 7
      Sanctions 9
      Negotiations and Direct Appeals 13
      Preventive Attack or Containment? 15
      An Alternative to Preventive Attack and Containment 24
Chapter 2 Thirty Years of IRGC Aggression 27
      Lebanon 29
      Iraq 31
      Afghanistan 33
      Saudi Arabia 35
      United States 36
      Attacks on Other States 41
      Interference with Navigational Rights 43
Chapter 3 Thirty Years of US Weakness 45
      Jimmy Carter 47
      Ronald Reagan 48
      George H.W. Bush 54
      William J. Clinton 60
      George W. Bush 69
      Barack Obama 78
Chapter 4 Defending Against IRGC Attacks 83
      Legality of Defending Against IRGC Aggression 84
      Legitimacy of Defensive Measures Against the IRGC 88
      Covert Attacks 91 Balance of Consequences 92
Chapter 5 Beyond Strength: Effective Diplomacy 101
      Rhetorical Restraint 101
      Regime Engagement 105
      Limited Linkage 110
      A Broad Agenda 114
      Forum Flexibility 116
Conclusion 119
Notes 125
About the Author 171
Index 173
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews