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May 6, 2008
Common Sense From John Bolton: US Should Bomb Iranian Camps
In the opinion of CIA Director Michael Hayden, "it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to the highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq." Clearly, Hayden's assessment is widely shared in the U.S. government, and is very likely correct. Former Iranian president Mohamad Khatami has essentially admitted as much in his surprising criticism his country's leadership yesterday for exporting terror to neighboring countries.
So there is very little doubt that the Iranians are arming and training Iraqi insurgents, and they are in part responsible for the recent rise in U.S. casualties. Last month, 52 U.S. personnel were killed in Iraq, by far the highest total since September 2007. This isn't a revelation.
The US has long claimed the Iranians were training Iraqi militia fighters in Iran, which Iran has consistently denied, and there have been numerous reports about Hezbollah operatives in Iraq. Additionally, Iran's Qods force has provided leadership, weapons, and cash to competing factions in Iraq, fostering and supporting violence in Iraq and the killing of American forces. With Iran so much involved in Iraq's violence and directly responsible for the deaths of Americans, it has been only a matter of time before common sense would begin to rise to a level of conversation about stopping Iran's interference in Iraq's affairs and America's progress in Iraq.
Entering the scene we have John Bolton, America's former ambassador to the United Nations, who is now calling for US air strikes on Iranian camps where insurgents are trained for war in Iraq:
Mr Bolton said that striking Iran would represent a major step towards victory in Iraq. While he acknowledged that the risk of a hostile Iranian response harming American's overseas interests existed, he said the damage inflicted by Tehran would be "far higher" if Washington took no action.So, should we "broaden the war" by bombing the Iranian camps? Jay Bookman, writing at The Atlanta Constitution suggests otherwise, offering that "Limited war, with all its frustrations, is sometimes the best option available. But it takes wisdom and patience to appreciate that difficult fact, two traits seldom seen in the current administration." On the other hand, we have Bolton and others suggesting we conduct what amounts to a limited response to what has been a full-blown effort on the part of Iran to kill Americans, disrupt Iraqi progress, cause as much violence and conflict in Iraq as possible, and attempt to expand their influence in the region. Does it make sense to continue sitting on our hands and allow this to continue?"This is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we're not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do," he said. "Then the ball would be in Iran's court to draw the appropriate lesson to stop harming our troops."
Mr Bolton, an influential former member of President George W Bush's inner circle, dismissed as "dead wrong" reported British intelligence conclusions that the US military had overstated the support that Iran was providing to Iraqi fighters.
As our title infers, common sense dictates we act sooner rather than later. Talking with Iran has never resulted in anything other than more and more stalling while they continue to do as they damned well please. Enough already, bomb the damned camps - even if it's a step-wise increase, and let Iran know that, finally, there are consequences to their killing Americans. Either way, it's a tough decision. But we actually have no other choice if we are to win the peace in Iraq.
This is coming from the viewpoint of someone who has known war, who has family members who have served multiple tours in Iraq, and would surely rather talk than fight. However, talking with Islamists is nothing less than playing Hudna, their version of stall until they gain the upper hand to kill more of us. Talking has never and will never work with Iran. By playing their game we end up with more dead Americans in Iraq and an Iran with atomic bombs.
Related (Pat Buchanan with an opposing opinion): Is It Jaw-Jaw or War-War?
Cross posted from Hyscience
Posted by Richard at May 6, 2008 1:30 PM
