THE UNITED STATES, IRAN, AND THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST

In a speech delivered at the annual dinner of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy on January 26, 2010, Pickering presents an analysis of the "extended and Greater Middle East from the Mediterranean to the Hindu Kush" that reflects a diplomat's point of view. As an American diplomat, he stresses that he would never want to be in a negotiation if the US did not have an absolutely first-class military and the world's strongest economy, both of which contribute greatly to their capacity to lead. What he thinks the categorization of the proper place of force in their national strategies these days means is that diplomacy is increasingly more important and valuable to the US in addressing problems around the world.