Sanctions Won't Stop Iran's Nuclear Bomb Program

by Reza Kahlili - November 8th, 2011 - American Thinker

Years of negotiations and sanctions have failed to stop Iran from its pursuit of a nuclear bomb and its missile program, nor have they convinced the jihadists in Tehran to change behavior. Today Iran holds enough enriched uranium for six nuclear bombs, has over 1,000 ballistic missiles, and is tripling its production of highly enriched uranium.

Iran's strategy has been effective: First, buy time with promises of holding talks and denying any illicit nuclear activity. Second, engage the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan through proxies, believing that it would make it difficult and costly for the U.S. to continue those operations and be forced to withdraw from the region. Last, incite uprisings within Islamic nations such as Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and others with the hope of overthrowing U.S.-backed governments while strengthening Iran's own position through its proxies in the region.

The Iranian leaders have concluded that due to the current events in the Middle East and the global economic crisis, the U.S. and the West have no option but to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran and that any talk of military action is an empty bluff. A recent analysis in the Iranian Keyhan newspaper, under direct supervision of Khamenei's office, best describes their view: the U.S. has been defeated and soon will be buried.

The reality is that our strategy is failing. If we continue with a doomed strategy, the consequence will be the destruction of Israel, the destruction of America and the destruction of Western civilization. Even if some future administration wins the war against the Islamo-fascists, a continuation of our current strategy is going to result in a nuclear holocaust that will kill millions of Americans. It is clear that Geroge W. Bush and his neo-conservative advisors never understood that their efforts were futile. They convinced themselves that they could accomplish the impossible. Instead they wasted billions of dollars and thousands of lives while Iran moved forward with the primary program we should have been asking our military to defeat. The unintended consequences of our actions are unacceptable.

Even today there are many Republicans who do not understand what a stupid waste of money and lives our efforts in Afghanistan have been. Good intentions do not make up for failure. We must change course.