Retired officers: Iran attack would be a disaster
Will President Bush listen to former high-ranking U.S. military officials plead for a diplomatic solution?
MSNBC-LONDON - Three former high-ranking U.S. military officers have called for Britain to help defuse the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program, saying military action against Tehran would be a disaster for the region.
In a letter to the Sunday Times newspaper, the three former officers urged President Bush to open talks, “without preconditions,” with the Iranian government in a bid to find a diplomatic solution.
The signatories were retired Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard, a senior military fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation in Washington, D.C.; retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, former head of U.S. Central Command; and Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan, former director of the Center for Defense Information.
The officers said an attack “would have disastrous consequences for security in the region, coalition forces in Iraq and would further exacerbate regional and global tensions.”
“The current crisis must be resolved through diplomacy,” they said
February 4th, 2007 at 11:53 am
John,No big surprise that the defeatist MSNBC would find people to promote defeatism.
These retired Generals and Admiral are right and invasion of Iran will lead to disaster but for the wrong reason.To open dialogue with the Iranian regime is not the answer.
To succeed against Iran we must continue putting pressure on it.This includes economic sanctions. Armed conflict against Iran in Iraq Lebanon and Palestine to bleed the Iranian regime.Support the people in Iran who want freedom over tyranny.
Iranians are tired of the poverty,unemployment, high rates of inflation and the fact the oil dollars are not being used to cure these problems.
The Ordinary citizens of Iran are not stupid.They know their wealth is being squandered by their regime to promote terrorism and to build a paper military.They are asking why the need of nuclear power when they are sitting on enough energy to provide all their needs. They are asking why they face gasoline shortages and food shortages.
What these defeatists are asking is the same thing Chamberlain did with Hitler. Chamberlain believed that dialogue would prevent Hitlers global invasion. We know how effective that was.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Mike
The best way to pressure the Iranian regime is allowing the price of oil to plummet to what it’s really worth. Freedom. Free markets, free enterprise.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
http://tectonicforces.blogspot.com/2006/12/cnbc-interview-with-siberian-energy.html
February 4th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Agreed Bill thats why the OPEC nations are not cutting back on production. They fear the Syrian/Iranian threat as well and want to see those regimes toppled. Good Link.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:24 am
Mike - defeatism?!?!?!
So you feel that we have the right to drop bombs on anyone we want? The evidence isn’t there to support a strike on Iran, nor is there evidence to support the idea that our military could do any better in Iran than it has in Iraq.
Call that defeatist if you want, but to believe we’re coming out of this on top at this point is a ridiculous notion. How about realist?
February 6th, 2007 at 7:47 am
“David Zaikin” is clearly reaching out to “small and medium U.S. based oil and gas companies”. My kinda guy.
And is also aware of the destructive nature of the relationship between the Bushes and the Saudis
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&q=bush+saudi&btnG=Search