My colleague Lara Friedman, APN's director of policy and government relations, returned from Stockholm over the weekend after two days of discussions co-sponsored by the Swedish National Defense Research Organization (akin to the American RAND Corporation) and Princeton University's Liechtenstein Institute for Self Determination.
The topic of the discussions was U.S., Israeli, and Swedish (and European) perspectives on the Iran nuclear crisis. Participants included several prominent Israelis, former senior U.S. military officers, and members of the Swedish foreign policy and national security community.
Lara told me that the discussions were "fascinating yet sobering, underscoring the sharp disconnect that exists between American/European views of the Iran challenge on the one hand, and the views of many in Israel, on the other hand. Lara said that the discussions "highlighted divergences with respect to both the interests and risks involved in the various options available, particularly as related to potential Israeli or U.S. military action against Iran."
Lara closely follows US Iran policy, particularly as it plays out between the administration and Congress. She is considered one of Washington's leading experts on this issue.
