Of the many grave issues that daily confront our nation, the single most urgent for resolution is whether Iran gets the bomb. Dealing with that murderous regime is a challenge for which no one in the American government, from the President on down, has an adequate experiential grounding.

The great challenge of dealing with Iran is coming to grips with the mindset of its leaders, who love death more than life. The leadership of Iran fervently believes:

1) Iran has a mandatory religious duty to destroy Israel and the USA.

2) In pursuit of this duty, there is no prohibition against lying, cheating, and deceit.

3) Entering into an anti-nuclear treaty with the USA would violate Iran’s religious duty to destroy the USA unless that treaty were a mere ruse to facilitate that destruction.

There can be no doubt that Iran would incinerate us if only it could acquire the means. And we must remind ourselves that Iran does not have to “develop” nuclear weapons. It could purchase warheads from Russia and missiles from North Korea if it could finance the purchase.

Image by AI.

President Trump seems to understand the problem, having pretty clearly threatened Iran with war. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is in sync with the President, having refused to rule out war with Iran. We should also note with approval the buildup of the US B-2 Spirit bomber force in Diego Garcia.

But there is nevertheless a serious cause for alarm. It’s true that, as NBC News reports,

Iran and the U.S. met on Saturday and have agreed to resume talks on nuclear issues and sanctions next week, the White House said.

In a statement released after the talks concluded earlier in the day, the White House described the discussions as “positive and constructive,” a sentiment echoed by Iran’s foreign ministry.

Say what? They are negotiating what? They are negotiating what the BBC describes, on Iran’s part, as “a deal to limit, but not dismantle, its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.”

So, the US is going to purchase promises from Iran? Will the purchase price be just what Iran needs to buy warheads from Russia and missiles from North Korea? What if Iran were to promise on a stack of Korans to abstain from the use of nuclear weapons? Would we dare believe that? Why are the words “Peace in our time” ringing through my mind?

President Trump on Wednesday repeated his threat to use military force if Iran did not “agree” to end its nuclear program. Trump set the two-month deadline in a letter last month to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”

Does this mean that a mere promise to “end its nuclear program” will stave off American military force?

Most frightening is this report:

Iran is considering proposing during talks with the U.S. that the two countries work on an interim nuclear agreement before pursuing negotiations over a comprehensive deal, a European diplomat and a source familiar with the issue told Axios.

Right. Iran needs more time...more time to prepare the bomb.

In this state of affairs, we are presented with the critical need to answer a burning question. The burning question for us to answer is this: Given the history, posture, and mindset of Iran, exactly what do we require to be secure in our beds at night?

Specifically, can we be secure with anything less than a military occupation of Iran?