Iran Task Force Advocates U.S. Policy Changes Towards Iran
An independent task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations has issued a report entitled "Iran: Time for a New Approach." The task force, co-chaired by former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brezinzki and former CIA Director Robert Gates, concluded that "U.S. reliance on comprehensive, unilateral sanctions has not succeeded in its stated objective to alter Iranian conduct and has deprived Washington of greater leverage vis-à-vis the Iranian government." The report also notes that "the prospect of commercial relations with the United States could be a powerful tool in Washington's arsenal."
The report offers a number of recommendations for U.S. policy towards Iran, including offering Iran a direct dialogue on specific issues of regional stabilization, pressing Iran to clarify the status of al-Qaeda operatives detained by Tehran, implementing a more focused strategy to deal with Iran's nuclear program and adopting measures to broaden the political, cultural, and economic linkages between the Iranian population and the world.
The report can be viewed at the following site:
www.cfr.org/pdf/Iran_TF.pdf