A Comparison of the Strategies of the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations vis-a-vis Iran

This article examines the policies of the Clinton & George W. Bush administrations towards the Islamic Republic of Iran. It analyses continuity & change & terms of both the "Grand Strategy" & operational US policy with its objectives & preferred instruments. Since 2005, a significant feature of the second term of the Bush administration has been the competing policies of the neoconservatives & the conservative realists. This contribution concludes that the latter group has prevailed so far mainly due to the catastrophic situation in Iran's neighbor Iraq. From today's perspective it seems that during the remaining months of the current US government, neither a "regime change" nor a military option in the form of a bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities is realistic (both objectives have been favored by "Neocons"). Nevertheless, the conservative realists led by Condoleezza Rice, who have increasingly supported a policy of containment, reject the option of selective & unconditional engagement with Tehran via direct diplomacy -- an approach which had been favored by the outgoing Clinton administration. Adapted from the source document.