Clinton Hints at ‘Defense Umbrella’ to Deter Iran

[BlueJessamine]

Source: New York Times

PHUKET, Thailand — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that the United States would consider extending a defense umbrella over the states in the Persian Gulf region if Iran does not bow to international demands to halt its nuclear program.

Her comment, delivered at a freewheeling town-hall meeting in Bangkok, was both a warning to the Iranian regime and a glimpse of how the Obama administration might cope with a nuclear-armed Iran, should Tehran continue with what Washington says is a sustained effort to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.

A defense umbrella would move the United States closer to the explicit security guarantee that Washington gives allies in Asia, though that is a nuclear umbrella — a term Mrs. Clinton did not use Wednesday. She did talk about fortifying the military capability of Iran’s neighbors.

“We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment that if the U.S. extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf,” she said, “it’s unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer, because they won’t be able to intimidate and dominate, as they apparently believe they can, once they have a nuclear weapon.”


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/world/asia/23diplo.html?hp

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snip

Mrs. Clinton was also asked about reports that her visibility as secretary of state had waned in recent weeks. She made light of it, saying it was a misimpression left by the fact that she had broken her elbow and was forced to cancel two overseas trips, including one with Mr. Obama to Moscow.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I thought Obama said that Iran had a right to nuclear power.

[DeadEyeDyck]

2. Hillary has balls

This Iran thing is getting out of hand. Something is going to snap.