Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- September 3, 2012

Iran and the Bomb: Would a Nuclear Iran Make the Middle East More Secure? -- Colin H. Kahl and Kenneth N. Waltz, Foreign Affairs

Kenneth Waltz is probably right that a nuclear-armed Iran could be deterred from deliberately using nuclear weapons or transferring a nuclear device to terrorists ("Why Iran Should Get the Bomb," July/August 2012). But he is dead wrong that the Islamic Republic would likely become a more responsible international actor if it crossed the nuclear threshold. In making that argument, Waltz mischaracterizes Iranian motivations and badly misreads history. And despite the fact that Waltz is one of the world's most respected international relations theorists, he ignores important political science research into the effects of nuclear weapons, including recent findings that suggest that new nuclear states are often more reckless and aggressive at lower levels of conflict.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Obama vs. Romney 101: 3 ways they differ on Iran -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

Obama must reject past U.S. presidents' inaction on Iran -- Ely Karmon, Haaretz

It’s about the Iranian Bomb, Not Obama -- Evelyn Gordon, Commentary

Inside Syria’s Fracturing Rebellion -- Sarah Birke and Katie Paul, New Republic

Afghan attacks urge a different approach -- National Editorial

A Real War & a Phony War -- William Kristol, Weekly Standard

China thrives in soft corner with two-track U.S. strategy -- Brahma Chellaney, Japan Times

China is again at a fork in the road -- Manoranjan Mohanty, The Hindu

How China Sees America: The Sum of Beijing’s Fears -- Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell, Foreign Affairs

Rocky future for China seas -- Kevin Rafferty, Japan Times

Why South African miners will not be convicted of murder in Marikana dispute -- Pierre de Vos, CNN

The Extraordinary League of Accidental Revolutionaries -- Ty McCormick, Foreign Policy

Can Europe Survive the Rise of the Rest? -- Timothy Garton Ash, New York Times

Venezuela on fire -- Washington Post editorial