Nearly every think tank worth it's name has been disseminating studies of the Iranian nuclear issue. The best I've see are Scott Sagan's article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, "How to Keep the Bomb from Iran"; Mark Fitzpatrick's article, "Assessing Iran's Nuclear Program," in the current edition of the journal Survival published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies; an informative survey by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "Judging the Iranian Threat: 20 Questions We Need to Answer"; and a report "Plan B for Iran: What if Nuclear Diplomacy Fails," by Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry, sponsored by the Harvard and Stanford Preventive Defense Project. That's more Iran than anyone would want to read. But keeps me from brooding about a remark one Iranian made to me as I was leaving that country several weeks ago: "Maybe you will return here as a war correspondent.
David Ignatius - "Proximity talks" is the phrase diplomats sometimes use to describe the process of indirect signaling and negotiation that takes place when two parties aren't actually talking. That's what has been happening over the past few weeks with the United States and Iran, and it has been an intriguing -- if somewhat opaque -- process for journalists like me to watch. Where is this non-negotiation leading? That's anybody's guess. But I can at least suggest some useful background reading, as we take our seats for the main event. And I'm looking forward to suggestions from Iranian bloggers about how to understand what's happening.
