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Iran’s Achilles’ Heel By EFRAIM HALEVY Published: February 7, 2012 Jerusalem THE public debate in America and Israel these days is focused obsessively on whether to attack Iran in order to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions; hardly any attention is being paid to how events in Syria could result in a strategic debacle for the Iranian government. Iran’s foothold in Syria enables the mullahs in Tehran to pursue their reckless and violent regional policies — and its presence there must be ended. Ensuring that Iran is evicted from its regional hub in Damascus would cut off Iran’s access to its proxies (Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza) and visibly dent its domestic and international prestige, possibly forcing a hemorrhaging regime in Tehran to suspend its nuclear policies. This would be a safer and more rewarding option than the military one. As President Bashar al-Assad’s government falters, Syria is becoming Iran’s Achilles’ heel. Iran has poured a vast

PDATED: February-6-2012  NO. 6 FEBRUARY 9, 2012 Looking to Asia STRATEGIC SHIFT: U.S. President Barack Obama, flanked by military officials, speaks about a new defense strategic review during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on January 5. The review outlined U.S. defense budget priorities and the strategic shift toward Asia (XINHUAN/AFP) The United States has been shifting its strategic focus from the Middle East to Asia. Professor  Clifford Kiracofe  from the Virginia Military Institute and the Washington and Lee University, an expert on U.S. foreign policy and national strategy, recently spoke to  Beijing Review  reporter Ding Zhitao about the implications of the move and its influence on Sino-U.S. ties. Beijing Review:   You said foreign policy under the Barack Obama administration is a policy of confrontation and containment of China. So do you think the expanded U.S. presence in Asia is mainly targeting China? If so, what are the conseq