by Jim Lobe
The Bipartisan Policy Center, which last year published a detailed report on Iran policy that I called a “roadmap to war”, is coming out with an updated version next week, according to an op-ed co-authored by task force members Dan Coats, Chuck Robb, and Air Force Gen. Chuck Wald (ret.) and published this evening by the Wall Street Journal.
The op-ed, presumably like the new report, is calling for Obama to begin military preparations for an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites at the same time that he pushes for international economic sanctions against Tehran.
“We believe only a credible U.S. military threat can make possible a peaceful solution.
“By showing that he has not taken the military option off the table, Mr. Obama may also be able to convince Israel to forgo a unilateral military strike while forcing Tehran to recognize the costs of its nuclear defiance. Furthermore, making preparations now will enable the president, should all other measures fail to bring Tehran to the negotiating table, to use military force to retard Iran’s nuclear program. We do not downplay the risks of this option and recognize its complications, but we do believe it to be a feasible option of last resort.”
Wald, a four-star Air Force General, published another op-ed in the Journal entitled “There Is A Military Option on Iran” just a month ago. As noted by my colleague, Eli Clifton, he was one of the invitees to a secret strategy meeting on Iran in the Bahamas convened by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) two years ago.
The principal author of last year’s BPC report was Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) with help from the BPC’s National Security Initiative director and Office of Special Plans (OSP) alumnus Michael Makovsky (brother of David). As the report has not yet been officially released, it remains to be seen who gets the credit for the latest incarnation. How sympathetic Dennis Ross, who signed on to last year’s report, may be to this “new strategy,” as the op-ed’s co-authors refer to it, is unknown.
The BPC’s founders, incidentally, include former Sens. Howard Baker and Robert Dole on the Republican side and Tom Daschle and (remarkably) George Mitchell on the Democratic side. The former three remain on the Center’s Board of Advisers. How any of them feel about the thrust of this report — and its implicit advocacy of unilateral U.S. military action against Iran — is also unknown. Robb and Wald are on the Center’s board of directors, along with about a dozen other worthies, including former Sen. John Danforth and former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine.
For God’s sake, is there no adult supervision in Washington. What is the matter with the these fools running things?? If someone doesn’t take the keys away from these juvenile idiots they will lead us all into ruin.
Iran is NO THREAT to us or to Israel for that matter. Their only threat is their refusal to be dictated to by the Western World. And, contrary to what some might think the US does not rule the World nor should it. These fools in Washington are having enough trouble trying to run this country let alone every other nation on Earth. The only result of attacking Iran will be a calamity so great we cannot even grasp it. It will surely be the beginning of the end of the West.
President Obama is a fraud of massive proportions. The irony of this whole situation is the level of tolerance that the american people are exhibiting where he is concerned. I suppose it is more a sense of despair than tolerance; because everybody really thought that he was going to end the wars as he so eloquently promised during his campaign.
Mr Obama should not make the mistake into thinking that people are not on to his spineless behaviour with regard to general policy. It can be argued that he is taking orders from the faceless powerbrokers behind the scenes and in so doing is trying to preserve his life from the so-called assassin’s bullet. But history is replete with examples of persons who capitulated to the evil powers and after they had served their purpose were eventually liquidated.
Unfortunately, Mr Obama is going to wind up as the meat between the sandwich; that is to say– enemies of each side of the coin– and clearly in times to come, if he is lucky to be still alive, everyone would have lost all respect for him. What a stark contrast between himself and former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who has proven herself to be a woman of principle and honor and stands up for what she believes in; whether you agree or disagree with her.
He really needs to take a leaf out of Cynthia’s book.
Just when the democratic movement in Iran is gathering strength, and just when deep fissures are emerging in the ranks of Iran’s hardliners, there is once again the talk of war. If a military attack on Iran does happen, it will give the perfect excuse to the hardliners to wipe out the Green Movement in Iran using bloodshed and large-scale violence under the guise of threat to national security and territorial integrity.
Hands off Iran. It is not a danger to any nation. The hardliners are a danger to the great majority of Iranians, but they will be taken care of by the Iranians themselves
Let’s not write off Pres. Obama yet. You see today that the U.S. has accepted Iran’s offer of Wednesday to enter into direct talks. Neither the president, nor Secy. Gates, nor the Chiefs want a war with Iran. There is tremendous pressure from the neocons and their media supporters, and from Christian conservatives, to “do” Iran. But this administration won’t bow to that pressure. Indeed, Obama could paraphrase James Baker: “F—
the neocons and the right-wing Christians. They don’t vote for us anyway.”
Altho’ there are certainly Democrats at Brookings and elsewhere who would support a more aggressive policy toward Iran, they don’t hold the balance of power in this administration. They probably count on Hillary for support, but she’s doesn’t make a winning hand for them. Obama appointed her to keep her from running against him in 2012; her influence in the administration is minimal, even less than it appears.
What you all need to watch for is an unilateral Israeli action. At some point, they will be able to overfly Iraq without our permission. 2010 and especially 2011 will be the years of greatest danger.
Jon. I’m not so sure that this country has the good sense to protect it’s own interests. I worry that they have drifted beyond the point of no return. What you fear in an attack on Iran being a the final nail in our own coffin could have been said about Iraq. Of course a better analogy than coffin nails might be nailing a whore with HIV. The infection of that the debt burden represents might well destroy/have destroyed the country we both love/d.
I’m planning on heading out to North Africa, hope to run a restaurant there and spend my days in a growing economy. Come to Oran and seek out the only Mexican food restaurant there. Don’t know when I’m making my break, I have grandparents who aren’t long for this world and my wife is finishing her last year of college once those are resolved I’m out. They love Americans in Algeria, at least they do for now.