AntiWar.com & The National Iranian American Council – 2012-03-06 22:37:31
Retired Generals to Obama:
No War of Choice With Iran
There is a broad consensus that a military strike is both unnecessary and dangerous
John Glaser / AntiWar.com
(March 5, 2012) — Several former high-level military and intelligence officials took out a full page ad in Monday’s Washington Post urging President Obama to resist pressure to attack Iran nuclear program.
The letter retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard Jr., retired Marine Gen. Joseph Hoar, retired Army Brig. Gen. John H. Johns, retired Army Maj. Gen. Rudolph Ostovich III, former deputy director of National Intelligence for analysis Thomas Fingar, former CIA national intelligence officer Paul Pillar, and retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson.
The page is headlined “Mr. President: Say No to a War of Choice with Iran,” and is sponsored by the National Iranian American Council, a non-partisan, non-profit organization headquartered in Washington. The letter states that “not every challenge has a military solution” and “unless we or an ally is attacked, war should be the option of last resort.”
The ad also features quotations by current and former senior military and intelligence officials explaining why attacking Iran is the wrong move. Those include Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, former CENTCOM Commander Gen. Anthony Zinni, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.
The ad is an indication of the widespread belief within the military and intelligence community that a war with Iran is both unnecessary and extremely dangerous. President Obama has faced pressure from hawks in Congress, from Israel, and from domestic lobbies bent on US intervention. He has resisted this pressure, at least for now, but his stated policy is still one of preventive war with Iran, something many saw as an extreme justification for international aggression when it was stated as policy in the George W. Bush administration.
Although the Obama administration has decidedly held off on a military strike for now, they are still heaping harsh economic warfare against Iran for a nuclear weapons program that the US military and intelligence community agrees does not exist.
The Ad Reads:
Dear Mr. President:
The US military is the most formidable military force on earth. But not every challenge has a military solution.
Unless we or an ally is attacked, war should be the option of last resort. Our brave servicemen and women expect you to exhaust all diplomatic and peaceful options before you send them into harm’s way.
Preventing a nuclear armed Iran is rightfully your priority and your red line. Fortunately, diplomacy has not been exhausted and peaceful solutions are still possible.
Military action at this stage is not only unnecessary, it is dangerous — for the United States and for Israel. We urge you to resist the pressure for a war of choice with Iran.
Retired US Officials to Obama: No War of Choice with Iran
Russia Today
MOSCOW (March 6, 2012) — Several former US military and intelligence officials have urged President Barack Obama to “resist pressure to attack Iran over its nuclear energy program.”
The high-level American officials took out a full page advertisement titled “Mr. President: Say No to a War of Choice with Iran? in The Washington Post on March 5, antiwar.com reported on Monday.
Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton, former deputy director of US National Intelligence for Analysis Thomas Fingar, retired Marine General Joseph Hoar, former CIA National Intelligence Officer Paul Pillar and retired Army Major General Rudolph Ostovich III were among the officials whose names appeared on the page.
The ad states that “not every challenge has a military solution” and “unless we or an ally is attacked, war should be the option of last resort.”
It also contains quotations by current and former senior US officials, including US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, explaining why attacking Iran is the wrong move.
The advertisement was sponsored by the National Iranian American Council, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington.
The US and Israel have been escalating the war rhetoric on Iran during the past few months, claiming that Tehran seeks to produce nuclear weapons under the cover of its peaceful nuclear energy program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran;s nuclear energy program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.
On March 2, US President Obama threatened Iran with a military strike over the country’s nuclear energy program, telling the Atlantic magazine that the US is “not taking any option off the table.”
Iran has denied Western allegations, promising a crushing response to any military strike against the country. Tehran has also warned that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.
NIAC No War Ad in Washington Post
WASHINGTON (March 5, 2012) — If you opened the Washington Post Monday morning, you would have found an ad featuring top former military and intelligence officials urging President Obama to resist the pressure for a war of choice with Iran. [See ad content below.]
The full page ad, sponsored by NIAC, comes on the same day that the President will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House.
That military leaders are taking this unprecedented stand is an indication of how intense the pressure for war has become.
There is no such thing as a military solution to the Iranian nuclear standoff. We must instead invest in diplomacy that can prevent war, prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, reduce tensions, and open space for human rights and democracy defenders in Iran.
More and more voices are coming together to prevent war before it is too late. Now is the time to take a stand.
