The Implications of Military Confrontation with Iran

This paper is premised on the assumption that an "Iran War" could still be in the cards and that there are conceivable scenarios in which it may happen. The aim here is to explore the hypotheticals, the "what ifs." What might be the aftermath of a war? Will the scale and scope of the conflict make a difference? How might Iran react in the advent of war -- in the short run as well as the long run? Similarly, how might Iran's neighbors and the broader Muslim world react? How might these factors impact the course of the Global War on Terror? And how will they affect America's interests and capacities to protect and safeguard those interests? How should the United States think about war with Iran? The goal here is not to advocate a course of action but to probe the possible (if not necessarily probable) ways in which conflict can occur and escalate. Similarly, this paper will consider the broader implications of an Iran War -- what it will mean for Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, and how the series of events that may ensue will shape the context of U.S. policy in the years that follow.

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