US considers military strikes against Iran
Dated 9/4/2006
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Washington: The administration of President George W. Bush is studying options for military strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy to pressure Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear program, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
Citing unnamed US officials and independent analysts, the newspaper said no attack appears likely in the short term, but officials are preparing for it as a possible option and using the threat to convince Iranians of the seriousness of its intentions.
Pentagon and CIA planners have been exploring possible targets, such as the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan, the report said.
Although a land invasion is not contemplated, military officers are weighing alternatives ranging from a limited airstrike aimed at key nuclear sites to a more extensive bombing campaign designed to destroy an array of military and political targets, The Post said.
The paper said Bush views Tehran as a serious menace that must be dealt with before his presidency ends, and the White House, in its new National Security Strategy, labeled Iran the most serious challenge to the United States posed by any country.
However, many military officers and specialists view the saber rattling with alarm, the report noted. A strike at Iran, they warn, would at best just delay its nuclear program by a few years but could inflame international opinion against the United States, particularly in the Muslim world, while making US troops in Iraq targets for retaliation.
Others believe it is more than bluster, The Post said.
"The Bush team is looking at the viability of airstrikes simply because many think airstrikes are the only real option ahead," the paper quotes Kurt Campbell, a former Pentagon policy official, as saying.
The report said that while US officials continue to pursue a diplomatic course, they seem increasingly skeptical that it will succeed.
The administration is also coming under pressure from Israel, which has warned the Bush team that Iran is closer to developing a nuclear bomb than Washington thinks and that a moment of decision is fast approaching, The Post said.
