Iran becomes newest threat in Middle East

Iran vows not to give up its nuclear weapons program, according to Wednesday’s USA Today.

Iran said the program is for peaceful purposes. Nuclear facilities are located in Tehran where USA Today reported earlier this month there was an explosion that brought on concern of a missile attack.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Bush met Wednesday to discuss options for Iran. However, as USA Today also reported, the question still remains whether allies should use rewards or punishment to achieve their goal.

“We will work with them to convince the mullahs that they need to give up their nuclear ambitions,” Bush told USA Today.

Iran is one of three countries that Bush mentioned as the “axis of evil,” Steven Hook said.

Hook is an associate professor of political science and specializes in U.S. foreign policy.

Iran is watched closely, he said, as it has been for many years.

“It’s not surprising we have a crisis situation,” he said.

Hook said we are depending on European countries to help with the Iran situation. This also will help restore relations with European countries.

Students should be worried about war in the Middle East, Hook said. Students are of draft age and could go to fight for the United States because it is in the middle of two wars, he said.

“The United States is already over-stretched in Iraq and using their reserves to the full extent,” Hook said.

He is concerned about the impact of our foreign policy.

“I’m afraid we’re running into a larger and larger conflict,” he said.

He also is concerned because the United States still has not found Osama bin Laden and after these wars, the United States will be in debt for years.

This debt will be left to the children and grandchildren of his generation, Hook said.

It affects Hook personally, he said, because he has a 16-year-old son and two other children, and it also affects the students in his classroom.

He said not only does it affect him on a micro level, but a macro level as well when it hits the economy and stability of the United States in the future.

It bothers him that we are at war with two different countries and students aren’t more involved, he said.

“There are campus groups,” he said. “Students can hold meetings, organize protests and demonstrations and write letters to our leaders.

“Student activism certainly had an effect on the Vietnam war and can have an effect today.”

He said students shouldn’t wait until the last minute to try to make an impact. They should do something about it before they are drafted.

Contact general assignment reporter Theresa Edwards at [email protected].