The Foreign Service Journal, June 2007

J U N E 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 41 he Bush administration currently has two problems with Iran: Tehran’s development of a nuclear capability and suspected Iranian interference in Iraq. Washington correctly sees the two issues as intertwined, but has not yet worked out how to address both together. Instead, American rhetoric has emphasized the stick over the carrot, feeding international alarm that President Bush will turn to military force to “solve” the problems — even though doing so carries major risks. F O C U S O N I R A N N EGOTIATE WITH I RAN FROM S TRENGTH U.S. THREATS ARE PROVING HOLLOW — BUT , IF NOT BALANCED BY A VIABLE NEGOTIATING STRATEGY , THEY COULD STILL HAVE HIGHLY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR ALL CONCERNED . B Y G EORGE B. L AMBRAKIS T Julia Vaskar