Nuclear Non-Proliferation Initiative

The Global Policy Program also continues its track-two diplomatic initiatives on security matters in the Middle East, offering policy options to the US government on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and nuclear non-proliferation in the region.

UNA-USA's ongoing meetings with groups of top Iranian and American experts, academics, former and current government officials have fostered discussion on a new, regional approach to addressing current Middle East policy issues. Through this initiative, we have created an informal network of interested American and Iranian analysts, former policymakers and other experts and have enlarged the circle of people engaged in thinking about them. This forum is ever-more important for increasing knowledge of and understanding complex security issues. The stakes are enormous—greater engagement in the Middle East could serve to advance a range of other US interests as well, including understanding better the Shia movement, stabilizing the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader Middle East, addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict, countering terrorist activity, and addressing drug trafficking in the region, among others.

Our most recent publication in June, 2009, is a paper co-authored by UNA's Eriks Berzins and USIP's Dan Brumberg, entitled "US-Iranian Engagement: Toward a Grand Agenda?" This paper, based on track-two meetings and roundtable discussions, provides policy challenges facing the Obama administration, and asserts that all issues on the US-Iranian agenda must be addressed in the context of greater security interests for the entire Middle East.      

In February, 2009, in the New York Review of Books, “How to Deal with Iran”, co-authors Ambassador Luers, Co-chair Thomas R. Pickering and James Walsh, a researcher at MIT, place Iran in a regional context, highlighting an ever-growing need and calls for discussions with Iran regarding Iraq and Afghanistan and our ability to contribute to the policy review of the Obama administration as it prepares its approach to Iran. The proposal laid out on how the new president can begin direct discussions with Iran in a regional and multilateral context, specifically regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has had endorsement of influential Americans such as Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Lee Hamilton. This article followed up on “A Solution for the US-Iran Standoff”, published last year in the New York Review of Books, which changed the nature of the debate over how to address Iran’s nuclear program, proposing a multinational nuclear consortium on Iranian soil. The widespread attention that these articles have received has allowed others to draw on our expertise at a critical time, as the Obama administration prepares to set a new course for America’s Middle East policy.

Publications

  Eriks Berzins & Daniel Brumberg. "US-Iranian Engagement: Toward a Grand Agenda?" US Institute of Peace. May, 2009.

  Eriks Berzins. "Engage, or Else." April 17, 2009. The Washington Times, Letter to the Editor. 

  "Rules of engagement with Iran." March 10, 2009. The Boston Globe, op-ed.

 "How to Deal with Iran". February 12, 2009. The New York Review of Books, Volume 56, No. 2.

 "Iran, Iran, Iran." January 16, 2009. The International Herald Tribune, op-ed.

 "A Solution for the US-Iran Nuclear Standoff". March 20, 2008. The New York Review of Books, Volume 55, No. 4.  

 "Possible Solutions." Ambassador Luers interview with the Council on Foreign Relations. March 13, 2008.  

  "Not more sanctions: how to end the US-Iran standoff." March 03, 2008. The International Herald Tribune, op-ed.

Amb. Thomas Pickering calls for
nuclear talks with Iran
UNA-USA co-Chairman, and Former Ambassador Thomas Pickering calls for talks without preconditions and advocates a plan for a multinational uranium enrichment consortium in Iran.