ABSTRACT
This chapter draws comparisons between the US and Israel’s actions as analyzed in Chapters 5–8 with regard to: the policies adopted, the schools represented in the decision-making apparatus, the effect of domestic institutions, and the influence of each country on the other. Following this is a comparison of US policy toward Iran with its policy toward North Korea’s nuclear program; and Israel’s policy toward Iran is compared with its policies on Iraq’s nuclear program in 1981, against Syria’s nuclear reactor in 2007. The basics of each case are outlined in a way that demonstrates the utility of the theoretical framework used throughout the book for additional cases beyond Iran. The comparison with US policy toward North Korea demonstrates how for North Korea, the costs of preventative military action were higher and the costs of accommodation were lower, relative to Iran. For Israel, the comparison addresses why military strikes were taken against Iraq and Syria but not yet toward Iran. Finally, the chapter applies insights garnered from the entirety of the book for a cautious look forward at the attempts to prevent a nuclear Iran, given the situation at the time of writing in mid-2023.
