World press on Obama administration's stance on Iran (February 5, 2013)

The Washington Post published an article devoted to the US administration stance on the Iranian nuclear crisis. "President Barack Obama may have to decide this year whether to use military force to fulfill his vow to prevent Iran from being able to build nuclear weapons, foreign policy experts say. But America’s economic and military realities argue intensely against attacking the Islamic republic and for muddling through by, perhaps, further tightening sanctions that have cut deeply into Tehran’s economy," the article begins.

 

 

"Americans are weary of war after more than a decade of military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. economy, while recovering from the Great Recession, still is weak. The military could face deep cuts this year as Congress considers massive reductions in government spending."

 

"What’s more, Iran is far stronger militarily than either Iraq or Afghanistan and would undoubtedly strike back by hitting Israel and attacking U.S. soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan. Also, Iran has put much of its nuclear program deep under ground, making it uncertain how much damage could be done by American airstrikes," the article reads.

"But time is running out. Experts say Iran has uranium enriched to 20 percent, a level from which it can be converted to weapons-grade fairly quickly. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency says the Iranians are preparing to install faster centrifuges that would speed the process.""Israel, which Iran has vowed to wipe off the map, sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and has threatened to unilaterally launch a first strike again Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Such an attack would almost certainly draw the United States into another military conflict in the region. But Obama and most Americans have shown no appetite for another war, a fact shown by the president’s reluctance to act militarily now and his refusal to involve U.S. forces in the Syrian civil war," the article reads.