Free Republic

Why are we even talking about taking military action in Syria? What is that military action supposed to accomplish? And what is the probability that it will in fact accomplish whatever that unknown goal might be? What is painfully clear from President Obama's actions, inactions and delays is that he is more or less playing it by ear, as to what specifically he is going to do, and when. He is telling us more about what he is not going to do — that he will not put "boots on the ground," for example — than about what he will...

It appears to be just a matter of time before Iran possesses an operational nuclear weapons capability. While the United Nations Security Council recently passed its fourth round of sanctions against Iran, if history is any guide, it is unlikely that this sanctions package will be any more effective than the previous three. Each of these sanctions packages have failed to achieve their stated objective of stopping Iran’s production of nuclear fuel. The options for stopping Iran are dwindling–as is time. There are, in fact, no attractive options for U.S. policymakers. These include: (1) accept a nuclear-armed Iran, (2) continue...

SINGAPORE – The U.S. has ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program any time soon, hoping instead negotiations and United Nations sanctions will prevent the Middle East nation from developing nuclear weapons, a top U.S. defense department official said Wednesday. "Military force is an option of last resort," Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy said during a press briefing in Singapore. "It's off the table in the near term." The U.S. and its allies fear Tehran is using its nuclear program to build arms. Iran denies the charges, and says its program only aims to generate electricity....

The United States envisions a limited Israeli air strike on Iran. A conference by U.S. Central Command and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy concluded that Israel was preparing a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. In a report on the January 2010 conference, senior U.S. officers and strategists were said to have identified key Iranian targets in any Israeli strike. "If Israel were to take unilateral military action, it would be focused and short-lived, conducted via long-range bombing runs or missile strikes," the report, titled "The Perfect Handshake With Iran," said. "The most likely targets would be the...

Several months ago, a top Israeli defense official visiting Washington was speaking with a senior American politician when the conversation turned to Iran. “Whatever military platforms you ask for, we will give you,” the politician told the official. “Everything, of course, except permission to attack Iran.” While this conversation is just one of many that take place daily between officials in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and their American counterparts in Washington and stationed throughout the Persian Gulf, it accurately reflects the current daylight between Israel and the US when it comes to Iran. Israel is of the opinion that time...

A majority of American Jews support military action against Iran to prevent the Teheran regime from obtaining nuclear weapons, a new study claims. Asked if they would support American military action, 56% of American Jews said they would, while just 36% opposed it, according to the American Jewish Committee's 2009 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion. An even greater number support Israeli military action against the Iranian nuclear program, with 66% in favor and just 28% against. The survey, which polled 800 representative American Jews and was conducted by Synovate between August 30 and September 17, also dealt with US-Israeli...

US should consider military options against N Korea: Perry Thu May 28, 1:28 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States should consider a range of coercive measures against North Korea, including possible military action, for diplomacy to have a chance of success, former US defense secretary William Perry said Thursday. Perry emphasized that he was not recommending military action against North Korea now but said the United States should at least consider escalating to military action if other lesser coercive measures prove ineffective. "We could have stopped this last nuclear test if we had chosen to do so. We...

The U.S. intelligence community in May completed a major National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran that concluded the Iranian military is building up its missile and conventional forces but that its forces remain relatively outdated, according to U.S. officials. The classified assessment, circulated to senior policy-makers, comes amid rising tensions in the region over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment and concerns that Israel or the United States will take military action to knock out Iranian nuclear facilities. Intelligence officials familiar with the estimate declined to disclose its details or even its key judgments, noting that the entire document is...

Tony Blair has declared himself at odds with hawks in the US Administration by saying publicly for the first time that it would be wrong to take military action against Iran. The Prime Minister’s comments came hours before the UN’s nuclear watchdog raised the stakes in the West’s showdown with Tehran. Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, who has previously called for direct talks with Tehran, is said to be totally opposed to military action. Although he has dispatched a second US aircraft carrier to the Gulf, he is understood to believe that airstrikes would inflame Iranian public opinion and hamper...

Ex-US defense chief suggests military action against North Korea by P. Parameswaran 2 hours, 50 minutes ago The United States should consider military action against North Korea if China and South Korea refuse to prod Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program, former US defense secretary William Perry proposed. Although the move is dangerous, there is no alternative left if China and South Korea, the two key economic lifelines to North Korea, do not join any US-led "diplomatic coercive" action against Pyongyang, he told a Congressional hearing. Perry, the Pentagon chief under former president Bill Clinton, said the United States...

Many of us on this site are eager to aggressively disassemble the Iranian nuclear program. But we are not confident that it would be easy to do (with conventional weaponry which is, no doubt, the only option being seriously considered). Some, including myself, initially suggested the wide-spread use of the Massive Ordnance Aerial Burst (MOAB) system, with its 18,000 lbs. of explosives and the 500ft. diameter circle of devastation it leaves in its wake. However, you have to drop a MOAB out of a slow-moving C-130 relatively near the target. A good look at the size of the Iranian nuclear...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Thursday that a strike against Iraq would "open the gates of hell" in the Middle East, and urged Baghdad to readmit weapons inspectors in coordination with the United Nations. President Bush has said he will ask Congress to back possible military action against Iraq and outline the threat posed by Iraq's arms program at the United Nations later this month. At the end of a two-day Arab foreign ministers' meeting, Moussa told reporters: "We hope and we will continue to work to avert war or any military action ... We will...