United States and Iran: Potential Friends or Continuing Enemies

摘要

In the past three decades, one country has stood out more than any other in opposing the United States efforts in the Middle East: Iran. To counter Iranian influences in the Middle East, the United States has adopted a stance of containment towards Iran, which is similar in nature to what the United States did in containing the Soviet Union during the Cold War. For all of the effort towards isolating Iran and preventing it from influencing the region, the containment strategy is flawed. If containment is flawed, then what is the right strategy with Iran. To neutralize this growing threat from a Radical Islamic Iran, the United States, the West, and Sunni dominated countries of the Persian Gulf region need to end the strategy of containment. Instead, they need to work together and use the favorable aspects of Globalization along with the Elements of National Power, i.e. DIME to force a favorable change to Iran's aspirations.