Obama Administration

NATO’s operation in Libya has rightly been praised for saving lives and ending a tyrannical regime, write the U.S. permanent representative to NATO and its supreme allied commander for Europe. But to replicate the success, member states must reinforce their political cohesion and improve the burden sharing that made the mission work.

The president knows that a foreign policy crisis -- especially one his critics have forewarned -- could derail his reelection campaign at any time. So, during the State of the Union address, he will try to give himself some political cover on a few issues in particular: Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

The new sanctions regime places the United States' tactics and objectives -- a negotiated end to Iran's nuclear ambitions -- at odds. In effect, the administration has backed itself into a policy of regime change, an outcome it has little ability to influence.

Opponents of military action against Iran assume a U.S. strike would be far more dangerous than simply letting Tehran build a bomb. Not so, argues this former Pentagon defense planner. With a carefully designed attack, Washington could mitigate the costs and spare the region and the world from an unacceptable threat.