Morning Joe: Engagement and Deterrence with Iran

Stories we're following today:

Nonmilitary Actions Can Deter Iran, Gates Says - Washington Post [link]

• Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday stressed engagement and economic sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, prompting his Israeli counterpart to insist that "no options" should be ruled out if diplomacy fails.
• Although the Obama administration has not ruled out using military force against Tehran, it has focused most of its attention on drawing the Iranians into talks over their nuclear program and convincing them that developing a nuclear bomb is not in their best interest.

Iran Opposition Leader Calls for More Street Protests - L.A. Times [link]

• Iran's leading opposition figure called on his supporters Monday to head into the streets daily during a religious festival next week, potentially escalating tensions at a time when his election rival, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is to be sworn in for a second term.

The Wisdom of a 'Defense Umbrella' Against Iran - Thomas Lippman Interview with CFR.org [link]

• Thomas W. Lippman, a specialist on Persian Gulf security, says U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's warning about a U.S. "defense umbrella" to protect regional states from Iranian nuclear arms makes sense as a form of deterrence. Clinton's comment, Lippman says, was meant to warn Iran why it "would not be better off, or safer, or stronger, if it went ahead and developed or acquired nuclear weapons."

Kyl Forced to Stand Down - Nukes of Hazard [link]

• Arms control advocates have worried for months that Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) would use the floor debate as a way to undermine the START follow-on process and further lay the groundwork for opposition to the CTBT. Sure enough, on July 22, Senator Kyl offered an amendment to place limitations on spending to implement a START follow-on treaty...
• So far [White House] efforts to make the case that a new arms control treaty with Russia will enhance U.S. security have been less than stellar. The White House needs to do a better job of knocking down the kind of arguments skeptics of the START follow-on process have been making before they begin to generate serious momentum.

Remarks By President Obama at the U.S./China Strategic and Economic Dialogue  - WhiteHouse.gov [link]

• "And together, we must strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by renewing its basic bargain: countries with nuclear weapons will move towards disarmament; countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them; and all countries can access peaceful nuclear energy. A balance of terror cannot hold. In the 21st century, a strong and global regime is the only basis for security from the world's deadliest weapons."

A View From the Dark Side

Defense Authorization Bill - Sen. Jon Kyl in The National Ledger [link]

• The two presidents agreed that both nations should reduce the number of nuclear weapons in their stockpiles. While I don’t believe that lower levels of nuclear forces in our deterrent makes the U.S. or our allies safer, my chief concern is that the weapons that remain are aging and increasingly difficult to maintain.
• Additionally, my amendment makes clear that the Senate believes that during the negotiations with the Russians, the U.S. should not impose limits on its missile defenses, space capabilities or advanced global strike capability development. Our missile defenses keep us safe from ballistic missile threats...

A View from the Inside

Inside the National Ignition Facility - PDN Photo of the Day [link]