Proliferation

Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Surprise! Wait, they're only in the early stages of development. *phew* We can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Seriously, Iran's desire to develop nuclear technology is not a completely insane one. For some reason, having these capabilities makes you a Big Player in the world and it's no surprise that Iran is tired of our meddling in the Middle East. If they develop weapons, they suddenly have a much bigger bargaining chip. Here's where the hard power foreign policy backfires -- big time. When you look earnest about negotiating peacefully with military as a backup, you can get what you want a whole lot more effectively than going out and invading countries while, well, failing at it.