Today's Must-Read: Kissinger On A Nuclear Iran

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has a lengthy op-ed on proliferation, and I'm more pessimistic than ever. Why? Because he makes a case that a nuclear Iran is an even bigger nightmare than a nuclear North Korea, and that 'regime change' must be our goal. Some highlights:

...Diplomacy is about demonstrating to the other side the consequences of its actions and the benefits of the alternatives.

One reason European negotiators have made the limited progress they have on the nuclear issue with Iran is the implied threat of actions the US may take in case of deadlock. The key issue between the US and Europe should not be over the necessity of pressure if diplomacy fails but the definition of it, the timing and precisely by what process that pressure is designed to lead to a non-nuclear Iran.

It is in that context that the proposition that regime change is the most reliable guarantee for Iran's denuclearisation must be evaluated...

...A non-proliferation policy must achieve clarity. How much time is available before Iran has a nuclear capability and what strategy can best stop an Iranian weapons program?

How do we prevent the diplomatic process from turning into a means to legitimise proliferation rather than avert it? We must never forget that failure will usher in a new set of nuclear perils dwarfing those that we have just surmounted.

As they say, read it all...