Realists vs Neocons - that sounds about right
Realists and Neo-Cons Renew Battle on Iran
Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON, Jul 20 (IPS) - A new round in the ongoing battle between realists and neo-conservative and other hawks over Iran policy got underway here Monday as a task force of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) published a new report urging Washington to engage Tehran on a selected range of issues of mutual concern.
The task force, co-chaired by Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser under former President Jimmy Carter (1977-81) and including the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under past President George H W Bush (1989-93) argues that neo-conservative and other analysts who are urging that Washington pursue ''regime change'' in Iran underestimate the staying power of the current government there.
''Despite considerable political flux and popular dissatisfaction'', the 79-page report said, ''Iran is not on the verge of another revolution. Those forces that are committed to preserving Iran's current system remain firmly in control.''
The report, 'Iran: Time for a New Approach', also argues that Washington's invasion of Iraq, as well as Iran's rapid progress in developing possible nuclear-weapons capability, makes it more urgent than ever to resume and broaden bilateral talks that broke off 14 months ago.
But it stresses that a ''grand bargain'' to settle all outstanding conflicts between Washington and Tehran is unrealistic and that talks should focus instead on making ''incremental progress'' on a variety of key issues, including regional stability and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
