'A Single Roll of the Dice, Obama's Diplomacy with Iran' by Trita Parsi

A Single Roll of the Dice, Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran, Trita Parsi (3.5)

Given the continuous news about the concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and pressure from Israel for the US to intervene, I was interested in reading more about the issue. Trita Parsi was a recent guest on ‘The Daily Show’ and this book sounded like a good place to start.  I often have mixed feelings when I read the detail behind political decisions our country has made.  The complexity of the situation is usually quite shocking and the details very hard to follow.  And as with most complex issues, there is no one right or wrong answer.  I think my main worry stems from a lack of faith that smart enough brains are involved to navigate us through the issue safely.  In this case, I was particularly suspicious of the Israeli lobby (who obviously have very strong emotions on the question of Iran’s nuclear position) and of our Congress’ ability to do anything but posture.  While I was glad to see cooler heads at the front of the decision making with regards to the US’s position (Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama), the pressure from all sides was remarkable.  Mr. Parsi interviewed 70 high-ranking officials from the US, Iran, Israel, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Brazil.  I found his reporting to be non-judgmental and balanced.  He did not appear to be as appalled as I was when I read about the nuclear capitulation that Iran delivered to President Bush in 2003. It was a ‘laundry list of policies that Iran was willing to discuss and amend’ and was ‘nothing short of an American wish list of everything that needed to change about Iran’.  Rumsfeld and Cheney roundly dismissed this proposal with ‘we don’t speak to evil’ and even the most hawkish are realizing that may have been a mistake.  The rest of the book delves deeply into the dual track strategy of diplomacy and sanctions, and the effects of both.  I found his conclusions or ‘next steps’ to be wise, though given that more sanctions are currently being threatened, I’m not sure anyone is following his proposed approach.