The closer the Western powers and Iran come to a negotiated settlement, the more we hear the West and Iran are destined to be enemies. Can the political establishment in the West and Israel ever say 'yes' to peaceful co-existence with the Islamic Republic? CrossTalking with Charles Cogan, Chuck Freilich, and Jim Lobe.

"The need for major reforms in the areas of health, education, housing, and even national security strategy are common to many countries, but the ability of Israel's governmental system to deliver these public goods is increasingly in question."

"In these circumstances, in which Israel's ability to achieve decisive defeats in future conflicts has diminished, it should be more selective in its uses of force and do so primarily when the prospects of achieving decisive defeat are high, not just out of a desire to preserve some vague concept of deterrence."

"After an admirable campaign to place the Iranian issue on the international agenda, Netanyahu overplayed his hand and turned himself into an annoyance, largely ignored by the international community, even the US. Moreover, his West Bank policies have dramatically exacerbated Israel's international isolation, including the worst downturn in relations with the US in decades. If a nuclear Iran truly is an existential threat, as Netanyahu avers, it warrants a commensurate effort to regain the high ground on the Palestinian issue as well. In fact, doing so is essential in its own right."

"Based on what we know of the negotiations, the hard truth is that Iran will have succeeded in becoming a de facto nuclear threshold state, i.e. one that will remain just months from an operational capability; the threat of a nuclear Iran will be with us for years to come, and, in effect, we will be talking about ongoing conflict management, not resolution."

Eight members of the Belfer Center's Iran Working Group—Graham Allison, Stephen Bosworth, Chuck Freilich, Nader Habibi, Martin Malin, Payam Mohseni, Gary Samore, and William Tobey—comment on the extension of nuclear negotiations with Iran beyond November 24th and consider potential determinants of the talks'  success in the coming months.

"Netanyahu, who deserves considerable credit for having successfully placed the Iranian issue at the center of the international agenda, unfortunately went too far in the last year, turned himself in the eyes of the world from the champion of the cause to an annoyance, and undermined the strategic coordination with the United States. The idea of conducting a public campaign against the agreement, while mobilizing the Congress against the president, borders on the irresponsible."

"I think the United States does not have the stomach for getting into another ground war in the region....I do think that air strikes alone are not going to do it. The boots that will be necessary on the ground will have to come mostly from other parties, not from the United States. Turkey is a good candidate. They've got a long border with what's happening and it would be nice to see some of the Arab countries putting some boots of theirs on the ground."

"ISIS is the immediate threat and must be dealt with effectively, but we should view our efforts to deal with it as part of a much broader and multi-dimensional effort."

"...[T]here is a fundamental popular misconception today regarding disproportionality in warfare. Warfare, the most heinous, if at times necessary, form of human endeavor is not about being fair and proportional; it is about wielding disproportionate force to defeat an enemy.