Editor's note: We asked three Fox News contributors and national security experts to weigh in on the following question:
Is the current regime in Iran determined to impose basically any hardship on its population in order to acquire a nuclear weapon?
Judith Miller, award-author and Fox News contributor:
The Islamic Republic only suspended its nuclear weapons program once -- in 2003, after the U.S. invaded Iraq. Only a credible *threat* of military force will make sanctions work. And prompt the mullahs to reconsider their course of action. But the use of force might undercut America's goal of regime change.
K.T. McFarland, national security expert and Fox News contributor:
Iran is in Syria helping them slaughter their people. As a dry run for slaughtering their own people should they rise up. Obama has wasted 3 and a half years trying to negotiate with Iran. They will never negotiate away their nuclear weapons. They only options left are bomb Iran, let Iran get the bomb or regime change. And today on the 101st birthday of Ronald Reagan we should remember how he forced regime change in the Soviet Union. He used the oil weapon to crash the Soviet economy so that their own people forced regime change. Obama has at his disposal, the tools to do the same to Iran. He should employ them rapidly and ruthlessly to bring Iran's economy to it's knees in a matter of months. If he fails we will be left with only two options: bomb Iran or let Iran get the bomb.
Van Hipp, former deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army:
"The Ahmadinejad regime has no regard for the Iranian people and will impose any hardship necessary upon them in order to acquire a nuclear weapon. Just look at the bloody suppression of the Iranian citizenry in the summer of 2009 who only wanted free and fair elections. They will sacrifice their own people for their ideology."
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