Is it too late for the West to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon without engaging in direct military action to stop the radical theocracy from getting to the bomb?

According to Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA operative and current senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, yes.

Gerecht, appearing on Just the News’ John Solomon Reports podcast that Iran has essentially reached the point where, to stop it, the US (or, presumably, Israel) could only really stop it by sending in the bombers.

Speaking on the issue of the Iranian nuclear program to John Solomon, he said:

“Essentially, they’re home free, which means you either accept them going nuclear and you’re perhaps willing to engage in some type of containment strategy — think of the Soviet Union. Or you strike. You try to prevent them from becoming a nuclear state.”

Either hope the ayatollas don’t use the bomb if they build it or try to hit a country on the verge of becoming a nuclear power with a strike of some sort before it’s too late. Neither seems like a particularly good, or safe, option.

Describing those options in a recent op-ed, Gerecht said:

The actual options: Iran gets the nuke but America tries to deter and contain its ambitions. Or America essentially gives up (Iran becomes Israel’s problem, not ours). Or America ramps up sanctions, tries to obtain a “good deal,” or induces a nuke-stopping, popular insurrection. Or, politically the least appealing choice, America goes to war to prevent the Islamic Revolutionary Guards from becoming custodians of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. Read more