Home / Quotes / Quote by Kenneth M. Pollack

Quote by Kenneth M. Pollack

“Most Iranians are sick and tired of revolutions. They've had one for the last 25 years, and they don't want another one. Those who've tried to spark another revolution have failed time and again. I don't think there's any evidence that somehow, if the U.S. gave these guys the high sign, it would make regime change somehow more likely. Every time the U.S. has tried to interfere in Iranian affairs to help a particular group of Iranians, it's backfired on us, and hurt the group we tried to help.”

Author

Kenneth M. Pollack

Kenneth M. Pollack is an American analyst born in 1966. He has extensive expertise in the fields of international relations and national security, serving as a senior policy advisor at the Office of Policy Planning in the U.S. Department of State. more

“The basic problem with the Non-Proliferation Treaty is there's no teeth in it, no penalties for countries that don't comply. Worse, as you say, the very naïve structure of the NPT has actually made it helpful for countries who want to acquire nuclear weapons. Iraq, North Korea, Iran, all used the NPT to build up their nuclear programs.”

Country Problem Program Helpful Nuclear Weapons North Korea

Author:Kenneth M. Pollack

“Iran uses terrorism very instrumentally as an element of foreign policy; they are not just intent on just killing as many people as possible, like al Qaeda. There's no reason to believe that would change.”

People Believe Reason Policy Killing Terrorism Foreign Policy Al Qaeda

Author:Kenneth M. Pollack

“The real concern is that Iran would do what Pakistan did. Pakistan wanted nuclear weapons, like Iran, purely for defensive reasons - to defend itself against India. The problem was that once Pakistan acquired the weapons, it allowed the country to be more aggressive. So they stepped up their support for the Kashmiri terrorists, and it led very quickly to the Kargil crisis in 2000, which almost sparked a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.”

War Real Country Reason Problem Support Concern Crisis Terrorist Aggressive Nuclear Weapons Nuclear War

Author:Kenneth M. Pollack

“Once Iran gets nuclear weapons, they may believe that they are no longer vulnerable to either.”

Believe Vulnerable Nuclear Weapons

Author:Kenneth M. Pollack