December 8, 2009
“The West is not deterring the mullahs. Instead, the mere prospect of their nuclear capability is deterring the West. Ahmadinejad and his friends sense their chance. … There is only one thing that can prevent the building of the Iranian bomb: the shutting down or destruction of the facilities that are producing the nuclear materials for it. But this will only be possible if the American administration revises its present course.”
—Matthias Kuntzel, author, “The Germans and Iran: The Past and Present of a Fateful Friendship,” op-ed, “Obama's Search for Peace in Our Time,” The Weekly Standard, December 7, 2009
“[I]t appears that while some factions support building nuclear weapons, others believe Iran can get most of what it seeks by putting a weapons option in place, without actually building a bomb. If this is the case, a negotiated agreement might actually change Iranian thinking about nuclear weapons. Once Iran began receiving the benefits of an agreement, the arguments of those who wanted to maintain the agreement would be strengthened, and the political threshold that would have to be crossed to build a bomb would be raised. A U.S.-Iran agreement would reduce Iran's perceived security threats—thus undermining opponents of the agreement. And by providing non-nuclear benefits to Iran, an agreement would bring other voices into Iranian decision-making (e.g., the finance minister or the oil minister), who may be less enthusiastic about Iran's nuclear ambitions and more sensitive to costs.”
—Matthew Bunn, associate professor of public policy, policy brief “Beyond Zero Enrichment: Suggestions for an Iranian Nuclear Deal,” Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, November 2009
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“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”
—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010
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