Alan J. Kuperman is correct to argue that airstrikes have become the only plausible avenue to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

It is widely appreciated that a nuclear-armed Iranian regime poses an existential threat to Israel, but it is also a huge risk for the United States if Iran becomes a nuclear weapons power.

Whatever the political, economic and security risks for the United States that might be entailed in a last-resort military strike upon Iranian nuclear facilities, they will be nothing against the shadow of nuclear blackmail under which the United States will be obliged to live once Iran gets such weapons.

Even if Iran never fires them at the United States, who really believes that Iran won’t give such weapons to terrorists? And who believes that, once having such weapons, terrorists won’t use them on the United States? And even if neither uses them, what unending series of concessions and retreats will the United States have to undertake to ensure that this continues?

Once Iran gets the bomb, our freedom and security may well be compromised beyond anything we imagined.

Morton A. Klein
National President
Zionist Organization of America
New York, Dec. 24, 2009