De facto acceptance of a Nuckear Iran!

"With Hilary Clinton taking leave from the State Department and Senator Hagel providing testimony at his nomination hearing as Secretary of Defense, Washington’s attention remains focused on the domestic transition process, to the disadvantage of positive engagement in the international issues of the moment. Despite a performance that even Hagel’s most committed supporters acknowledge was faltering, he still has the votes to be confirmed. Administration officials have warned us not to take Hagel’s hedged remarks over Iran too literally. “Iran policy is firmly under White House control,” one stressed to us. Nonetheless, we expect the debate over prevention as opposed to containment, that is de facto acceptance of an Iranian nuclear weapon, to come into focus as new talks with Tehran begin later this month. In the past senior State Department officials, including Hillary Clinton, have hinted that they might be open to some version of containment. Officials know that this would be highly controversial domestically, including with many senior Democrats, and would risk a serious rift with Israel. They would therefore approach the concept very cautiously..."