President Obama's Letter to Khamenei is a form of MAD

John Rookard

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/07/lawmakers-slam-obama-letter-to-iran-ayatollah-ali-khamenei/

The above news article link talks about a recent letter President Barack Obama wrote to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayetollah Ali Khamenei this week about a possible partnership between Iran and the United States.  This letter stirred up quite a bit of controversy because Republicans, who gained controlled of both chambers of Congress, mostly disagreed with his actions.  This letter to Khamenei and possible partnership relates to international studies because it is an example of compellence in Mutually Assured Destruction theory.  I believe that President Obama was not completely out of line in sending a secret letter asking for Iranian support in the fight against ISIL.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) theory mostly relates to the use of nuclear weapons because they are so destructive.  MAD says that rational leaders will not use nuclear weapons because of the weapons’ capabilities.  It is known by the general public that Iran is harvesting nuclear material and some say it could be weapons grade.  This possible development of a nuclear weapon combined with being in a bad neighborhood makes many American officials wary of the idea of joining forces with Iran.  In the article, it was stated that Iran said their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.  Whether you believe that or not is not the issue here, but rather, this situation shows that the threat of nuclear weapons creates fear. 

Both the United States and Iran keep each other honest with their nuclear capabilities.  The Sokolowski reading for class is a bit outdated but it shows that Iran is not given enough credit for responsibility of having a nuclear weapon.  Sokolowski argues that Iran would be open to attacking Israel and supporting terror groups in the area if they were to obtain a nuclear weapon.  Again, I am here to argue that President Obama trying to rally Iranian support is not a crazy idea because Iranian leadership is more rational than usually assumed.  MAD plays a role in this because Iranian leaders know that the use of nuclear weapons against a U.S. ally would certainly result in a second strike.

I believe President Obama realizes the dangers associated with Iran but he is relying on MAD as well as the threat of ISIL to compel Iranian leadership.  Iran has great interest in both Iraq and Syria and therefore Iran should help stop ISIL’s movements.  Compellence is a strong tactic in MAD because it forces another party to undertake an action through coercion.  Although no clear act of compellence like sanction or withdrawal from land has taken place; the letter is the first step.

Reaching out to Iran was not a horrible thing to do.  Nuclear weapons create fear, but ISIL is a threat that has to be dealt with now.  Gathering support of countries in the Middle East to stop this imminent threat can only help.  Even if Iran’s nuclear program is not for peaceful reasons, I highly doubt Iran will use it because nuclear weapons cause rationality even among the craziest leaders.