Just gets weaker all the time: --
President Barack Obamas national security advisers are considering a broad range of options to curb Irans nuclear program
In his statement, Gates said: The memo was not intended as a wake up call or received as such by the presidents national security team. Rather, it presented a number of questions and proposals intended to contribute to an orderly and timely decision-making process.
Mullen said Gates was leading policy deliberations within the administration that have had great focus for years, not months.
This is as complex a problem as there is in our country and we have expended extraordinary amounts of time and effort to figure that out, to try to get that right, Mullen said.
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Theyre acting as if theyve got all the time in the world they are dithering over plans and proposals which may take months to even decide on. By the time we make up our mind on what to do, Iran may already have deployed nuclear weapons.
Patience is a virtue in foreign affairs only when you are awaiting the outcome of a policy decided upon. President Bush, for instance, was very patient regarding Iraq and this was ultimately rewarded with victory. But he wasnt patient in making up his mind and, indeed, in such things rapid decision-making is crucial to success. Delay means that whatever policy you decide upon might not reflect reality at the time of implementation.
Choose: do we want Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, or do we wish to prevent this?
Choose: if we wish to prevent this, do we go with talking, sanctions or armed action?
Pick one, and then stick with it. Even if we pick wrong, its better than not picking, at all. Quite honestly, wed be better off saying were ok with an Iranian nuke and then make defense arrangements with Irans neighbors than making an asinine announcement that were still thinking things over. The Iranian leadership isnt thinking things over theyve already decided and are now patiently waiting us out, figuring that even if we ever screw ourselves up to action, it will be too late.
My views are known blockade of Irans gasoline imports followed by selected air strikes on nuclear and other defense targets if blockade doesnt bring the Iranians to the negotiating table. Maybe Im wrong but delay in decision is worse than being wrong.