Nuclear option to prevent Nuclear proliferation in IranYep, you read that right. About the only thing that this article does do is provide a little bit of reassurance that right now strategy is leaking out of the White House rather than being quite as hidden prior to the Iraq war. (And let me say, I support the troops and admire them, but I don't agree with many of the stategic decisions being made for their use).
Scariest quotes from within the article:
A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership inthe Pentagon said that Bush was “absolutely convinced that Iran isgoing to get the bomb” if it is not stopped. He said that the Presidentbelieves that he must do “what no Democrat or Republican, if elected inthe future, would have the courage to do,” and “that saving Iran isgoing to be his legacy.One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues forthe Bush Administration, told me that the military planning waspremised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran willhumiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up andoverthrow the government.” He added, “I was shocked when I heard it,and asked myself, ‘What are they smoking?’ ”A senior Pentagon adviser on the war on terror expressed a similarview. “This White House believes that the only way to solve the problemis to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war,” he said.The danger, he said, was that “it also reinforces the belief insideIran that the only way to defend the country is to have a nuclearcapability.”He went on, “Nuclear planners go through extensive training andlearn the technical details of damage and fallout—we’re talking aboutmushroom clouds, radiation, mass casualties, and contamination overyears. This is not an underground nuclear test, where all you see isthe earth raised a little bit. These politicians don’t have a clue, andwhenever anybody tries to get it out”—remove the nuclearoption—“they’re shouted down.”
The attention given to thenuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the offices of theJoint Chiefs of Staff, he added, and some officers have talked aboutresigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to removethe nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran—withoutsuccess, the former intelligence official said. “The White House said,‘Why are you challenging this? The option came from you.’ ”
My question to all this: Why the hell does the administration not employ a qualified advisor on Arab, Islamic, and Iranian culture? All you have to do is look at the past 20 years to see exactly how the current Iranian (president and clerics) leadership will respond to strong arm tactics. And the Iranian people aren't going to be too appreciative of it either given that they have a front row seat to Iraq.
Insane. I keep looking at the calendar and praying that today is April 1. No such luck. Instead it's just another day in the current administration that we have to survive for another three years...unless legal occurences actually manage to take down the whole one-brained administration and prevent a Delay-ite from assuming power.
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ignipes.
