The Threat from Iran

Testifying before the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Committee on Armed Services, Pollack argued that key Iranian leaders remain hostile to the United States and to the West; they have refused to embrace the norms of the international community; they are determined to overturn the status quo. According to Pollack, the United States must be prepared for them to pursue all of these goals with the same mix of rhetoric, diplomacy, bullying, subversion, and terrorism that they employed throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Pollack said that within the framework of a new containment of Iran, the United States should consider the possibility of waging a targeted air campaign aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities as a last resort. However, Pollack belies that as long as U.S. allies remain firm, there is every reason to believe that Tehran will eventually be forced to change course.

View Full Testimony (PDF—79kb)