Public Opinion to American Foreign

¶ … Public Opinion to American Foreign Policy Towards Iran

Why Iran is important to U.S.

The United State's reign as the preeminent global superpower has traditionally been challenged by nondemocratic nations predicated on a distinct ideological objective, from the European domination of Nazi Germany in World War II to the encroachment of Communism by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Today, with America locked in a prolonged struggle against the threat of radicalized Islam, the Islamic Republic of Iran has emerged as the most potent opposition to the U.S. foreign policy agenda. The relationship between the U.S. And Iran has always been tumultuous at best, and openly hostile at worst, with the conflict stemming from the 1953 overthrow of Iran's democratically elected Shah Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh, and the subsequent installation of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to facilitate American and British interests in the region. When the puppet government of America's chosen Shah was overthrown in 1979, the Iranian Revolution led by Islamic fundamentalist Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini signaled the beginning of a decades-long standoff between the two countries.

Among the many points of contention between American and Iranian leadership are latter's overt efforts to procure nuclear capabilities, ostensibly for energy reasons, because the world rightfully fears a fanatical government obtaining nuclear weaponry. Iran's stated goal of obliterating Israel, which is America's strongest ally in the Middle East, has also exacerbated the hostilities, with both sides engaging in political posturing to maintain their status.

According to a recent policy analysis conducted by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, "three core issues are at stake here: Iran's right to develop nuclear technology for verifiably peaceful purposes; Israeli concerns that an Iranian nuclear bomb would be an existential threat, which Israel will never allow to happen; and, Western fears of Iran's military power, nuclear capabilities, and radicalizing political influence around the Middle East" (Khouri 1). Iran is important to the U.S. because the nation's leadership has proven to be unpredictable in their actions, which makes containing any nuclear ambitions a pressing national security objective.

2.) Why U.S. public opinion is important to foreign policy?