Sokolski, the Iran Deal, and Hillary Clinton

The Iran Deal is a policy that has raised a lot of controversy among our politicians in the last view months. I agree with Sokolski in “Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran” that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. When it comes specifically to how this situation should be handled, my views directly parallel that of Hillary Clinton’s—support for the Iran Deal but with some more aggressive stipulations.

There’s a number of reasons Sokolski puts forward about why Iran should not be allowed to go nuclear. The first reason, and what I think is the scariest, is the domino effect that will ensue with other Middle Eastern states once Iran goes starts making nuclear weapons. Once Iran starts, a lot of the other states in that region will demand to have nuclear weapons. That in itself will cause instability in the region. Security issues for the United States also arise, because Sokolski points out that a more confident Iran could equal more terrorist groups and operations, or even worse there’s the great risk of the nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. Finally, there is also a risk to the world economy. Iran could use its nuclear capabilities to threaten or attack Saudi Arabian oil facilities and pipelines, and therefore dramatically increase the price of oil.  

Hillary has formally endorsed the Iran Deal and showed President Obama support for it, especially supporting his diplomacy. But with this support she has had a few stipulations which she voiced to the administration as Secretary of State. Originally, when she ran for president in 2008 her and then Senator Obama had conflicting ideas on how to handle Iran. At the time, she claimed that Obama’s diplomatic plan was far too optimistic and even naïve. So as she started to accept the Iran Deal, she still had some stipulations. I remember reading an article online on Politico a few weeks ago talking about how when she was Secretary of State, she pushed for consideration of a measure that would give Israel the approval to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites. I agree with her support with stipulations because I feel like it’s the happy medium needed. The Iran deal in my opinion seems like the only option right now because the United States, once again in my opinion, cannot afford another conflict or war. I feel that there are much more important other issues domestically going on that require attention and funding. But at the same time, the United States can’t pass policies that would hurt or put the country at risk. So I feel that diplomacy is necessary but with stipulations in place so that the U.S. isn’t put in a problematic position where conflict could be further escalated.