Flashermac Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 The Sunday Times February 25, 2007 US generals â??will quitâ?? if Bush orders Iran attack by Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter, Washington SOME of Americaâ??s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources. Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack. â??There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,â? a source with close ties to British intelligence said. â??There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.â? A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. â??All the generals are perfectly clear that they donâ??t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them. â??There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.â? A generalsâ?? revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented. â??American generals usually stay and fight until they get fired,â? said a Pentagon source. Robert Gates, the defence secretary, has repeatedly warned against striking Iran and is believed to represent the view of his senior commanders. The threat of a wave of resignations coincided with a warning by Vice-President Dick Cheney that all options, including military action, remained on the table. He was responding to a comment by Tony Blair that it would not â??be right to take military action against Iranâ?Â. Iran ignored a United Nations deadline to suspend its uranium enrichment programme last week. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted that his country â??will not withdraw from its nuclear stances even one single stepâ?Â. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran could soon produce enough enriched uranium for two nuclear bombs a year, although Tehran claims its programme is purely for civilian energy purposes. Nicholas Burns, the top US negotiator, is to meet British, French, German, Chinese and Russian officials in London tomorrow to discuss additional penalties against Iran. But UN diplomats cautioned that further measures would take weeks to agree and would be mild at best. A second US navy aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS John C Stennis arrived in the Gulf last week, doubling the US presence there. Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, warned: â??The US will take military action if ships are attacked or if countries in the region are targeted or US troops come under direct attack.â? But General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said recently there was â??zero chanceâ? of a war with Iran. He played down claims by US intelligence that the Iranian government was responsible for supplying insurgents in Iraq, forcing Bush on the defensive. Paceâ??s view was backed up by British intelligence officials who said the extent of the Iranian governmentâ??s involvement in activities inside Iraq by a small number of Revolutionary Guards was â??far from clearâ?Â. Hillary Mann, the National Security Councilâ??s main Iran expert until 2004, said Paceâ??s repudiation of the administrationâ??s claims was a sign of grave discontent at the top. â??He is a very serious and a very loyal soldier,â? she said. â??It is extraordinary for him to have made these comments publicly, and it suggests there are serious problems between the White House, the National Security Council and the Pentagon.â? Mann fears the administration is seeking to provoke Iran into a reaction that could be used as an excuse for an attack. A British official said the US navy was well aware of the risks of confrontation and was being â??seriously carefulâ? in the Gulf. The US air force is regarded as being more willing to attack Iran. General Michael Moseley, the head of the air force, cited Iran as the main likely target for American aircraft at a military conference earlier this month. According to a report in The New Yorker magazine, the Pentagon has already set up a working group to plan airstrikes on Iran. The panel initially focused on destroying Iranâ??s nuclear facilities and on regime change but has more recently been instructed to identify targets in Iran that may be involved in supplying or aiding militants in Iraq. However, army chiefs fear an attack on Iran would backfire on American troops in Iraq and lead to more terrorist attacks, a rise in oil prices and the threat of a regional war. Britain is concerned that its own troops in Iraq might be drawn into any American conflict with Iran, regardless of whether the government takes part in the attack. One retired general who participated in the â??generalsâ?? revoltâ? against Donald Rumsfeldâ??s handling of the Iraq war said he hoped his former colleagues would resign in the event of an order to attack. â??We donâ??t want to take another initiative unless weâ??ve really thought through the consequences of our strategy,â? he warned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 â??We donâ??t want to take another initiative unless weâ??ve really thought through the consequences of our strategy,â? That would be a first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I don't want to think of this!!! If Iran is so bad, then the UN should rally the troops and do something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 GWB is going to leave a fine mess for whoever his successor is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Flasher It seems you are the one who would know Can the generals...can they "just quit"? Good on them but is it possible legally? I have my Bush countdown calender with each and every month of his remaining time left illustrated with an absurd photo and ridiculous/moronic quote. :thumbup: Fab item Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 They've surely every one of them got enough time to put in for retirement. Be hard for the military to do anything to them if they asked to go. Trying to force them to stay on active duty would look more embarrassing then letting them go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Thanks. Interesting bit of leverage isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Bush has only got 10 months left. Wonder what he can get up to in that amount of time. If he had any sense, you think he'd be trying to disengage as much as possible -- not kick up another fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I dunno, create more instability, push up oil prices...who do you think Bush et al are going to work for when they leave office? Do you really think they give a shit about who is in power next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Read this prophetic warning of the beginning of the Bush-Cheney Oil-agarchy. http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/news/america/usa/092001p.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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