Originally published on the CGS blog on October 28, 2009.
It is obvious that the majority of the world wants to live without the threat of nuclear war. Even those who have the nuclear capabilities that could cause war would most likely not want to use those weapons. However, whose responsibility is it to prevent other countries from using nuclear weapons, let alone prevent them from building capabilities? In recent years, the United States has often been referred to as a world policeman, telling countries what they can and cannot do. It has especially been a point of contention when it comes to other countries developing nuclear capabilities since the U.S. has them itself. Iran is one country that is in the international spotlight for its nuclear activities, and the United States would like to have more control over those activities.
The rumors have been swirling for years that the Iranians are building up their capabilities to create atomic weapons at their nuclear power sites. Tensions have headed up in recent years leading the U.S. to firm statements condemning Iran for any efforts to create nuclear weapons. However, the Obama administration knows that it cannot win this fight alone. At the United Nations General Assembly in September, President Obama led a meeting on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. He made it clear that he was looking for multilateral support and cooperation to handle these elaborate challenges to global security.
In recent weeks, U.S. diplomats have pushed with its international partners to nudge Iran into agreeing to not use its nuclear facilities to build atomic weapons. Just last week, the U.S., Russia, France and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave Tehran until last Friday to accept a negotiated offer. The deal would mean that Iran would convert low-enriched uranium into fuel to run its Tehran Research Reactor, which Iran might otherwise enrich further to make a bomb. Friday came and went without an official Iranian response. White House officials indicated they would wait a bit longer to see if Iran would accept the offer.
The United States seems to be more of a team player when it comes to Iran these days despite Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s mention of a “defense umbrella” in July. A defense umbrella or extended deterrence is meant to protect U.S. friends and allies in the Middle East and Europe, similar to the security umbrella the United States provided to Germany during the Cold War.
Overall, friendly countries with less power and capabilities are willing to give the United States the power to protect them from Iranian nuclear threats. More prominent countries want the United States to work multilaterally in order to sanction and pressure Iran. Knowing the United States, our administration is likely to try and walk a thin line between international cooperation while also serving its own interests and those of its allies quite openly. We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes before the international community starts calling the United States a global policeman again.
