The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, seems to agree, albeit it politely, with the most of the civilized world that Dick Cheney and his crew are nuts.
From the Times …
He rejected the counsel of those who might urge immediate attacks inside Iran to destroy nuclear installations or to stop the flow of explosives that end up as powerful roadside bombs in Iraq or Afghanistan, killing American troops.
With America at war in two Muslim countries, he said, attacking a third Islamic nation in the region âhas extraordinary challenges and risks associated with it.â The military option, he said, should be a last resort.
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He pushed back against those who are calling for military action against Iranâs nuclear program, saying that diplomatic and economic pressure must take precedence.
The threat to American and allied troops from high-powered explosives from Iran, he said, should be countered by halting their flow into Iraq or Afghanistan across the borders, and with attacks on those bomb-making and bomb-planting cells inside Iraq or Afghanistan.
âThat said, that doesnât get at the source of it,â he acknowledged. Asked whether the American military should aim at sites inside Iran if intelligence indicated that such interdiction could halt the flow of those bombs, he said âthe risks could be very, very high.â
âWeâre in a conflict in two countries out there right now,â he added. âWe have to be incredibly thoughtful about the potential of in fact getting into a conflict with a third country in that part of the world.â
