| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| US: Iran strike 'still an option' |
| 2010-04-22 |
| US military action against Iran is still an option as a measure to halt the country's nuclear programme, the Pentagon has said. This is more foolishness than usual for our side, and we're going to pay for it ... "We are not taking any options off the table as we pursue the pressure and engagement tracks," Geoff Morrell, the US defence department's press secretary told reporters on Wednesday. The comments came as officials faced a flurry of questions after Michele Flournoy, the US undersecretary of defence for policy, reportedly said that a strike against Iran would be a "last resort". "It is not on the table in the near term," Flournoy was quoted as saying during a visit to Singapore. Asked about Flournoy's reported remarks Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said US strategy over Iran's nuclear programme remained unchanged, with Washington focusing on diplomatic efforts to persuade Tehran to abandon uranium enrichment. "The president always has at his disposal a full array of options, including use of the military," he said. Morrell told reporters that Flournoy's remarks were not "anything new". "It clearly is not our preference to go to war with Iran, to engage militarily with Iran. Nobody wishes to do that, but she also makes it clear it's not off the table." He said the US preference for diplomacy over military action held true for the current administration, as well as the government of former president George Bush. Morrell also acknowledged that nearly 200,000 troops deployed in countries bordering Iran - Afghanistan and Iraq - could face attacks in the event of a possible US strike. "We have troops in close proximity to Iran that are potentially targets of retaliation should action be taken," he said. He added however that the Pentagon is "very confident" that it could defend the United States against the threat of an Iranian ballistic missile strike. A recent report by the defence department to congress concluded that Iran could develop a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015. Iran already has the largest deployed ballistic missile force in the Middle East, comprising about 1,000 missiles capable of hitting targets up to 1,930km away, the report said. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 You guys have no imagination. |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2010-04-22 15:44 |
| #4 And Rosie O'Donnell still has the option of marrying Mike Tyson, too. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2010-04-22 12:49 |
| #3 It does rather come off as an after-thought - like a belated bluff from somebody at the table with a hand full of crap so non-plussed that he forgot to pretend at first. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-04-22 12:28 |
| #2 This is more foolishness than usual for our side, and we're going to pay for it ... How is that? I would have thought it would have been foolish to indicate that it was off the table. Perhaps in giving them a clue as to the timeline? |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-04-22 02:12 |
| #1 The US repor now says "ALL OPTIONS" are also "on the table" as per SYRIA, LEBANON, + HIZBOLLAH vee HIZB SCUDS. * TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > [Conference]US EXPERTS: IRAN NO LONGER FEARS US ATTACK; + [Vayan Wahabe]DRUZE LEADER: HIZBOLLAH HAS MISSLES MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN SCUDS. * WORLD NEWS > PENTAGON: IRAN HAS MILITARY CAPABILITIES WORLDWIDE, + HIZBOLLAH DENOUNCES UN CALL TO GIVE UP WEAPONS + HIZBOLLAH REFUSES TO PARTICIPATE/SUPPORT "LEBANESE RECONCILIATION" SCHEME. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-04-22 00:48 |