AMBASSADOR (RET.) YORAM ETTINGER -- While attention has been focused on Iran’s nuclear ambition, it is Iran’s conventional power, which has made it the leading global epicenter of war, terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering, including in Latin America and on US soil.
Moreover, the aim to end war and terrorism, on the one hand, and Iran’s conventional potency, on the other hand, constitutes an oxymoron. In fact, the existence of the Ayatollahs regime, on the one hand, and any attempt to end war and terrorism, on the other hand is a contradiction in terms.
According to Dr. Evan Ellis, a Latin American specialist at the Strategic Security Institute at the US Army War College, Iran’s involvement in Latin America and the Caribbean constitutes a clear and present threat to the US mainland in the following manner:
- Increasing collaboration with China and Russia, in order to undermine the US strategic posture in its own backyard, Latin America;