Speak softly by Wes Clark
As former military leaders, we see removing the threat of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons to be an imperative.
But seriously ill-timed would be any demand that “all instruments of power and influence of the United States should remain on the table to prevent [Iran] from developing nuclear weapon capabilities.” Negotiations often entail posturing and saber rattling, and sometimes even overt threats. But for sake of our troops, overt threats before concluding what appears to be earnest, ongoing negotiations is unwise. Wholly apart from the aggressive tone, America’s adversaries know that the U.S. never goes to war without “all instruments of [our nation’s] power on the table.” For the soldiers who will bear those arms, we would expect no less.
As former military leaders, we see removing the threat of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons to be an imperative.
But seriously ill-timed would be any demand that “all instruments of power and influence of the United States should remain on the table to prevent [Iran] from developing nuclear weapon capabilities.” Negotiations often entail posturing and saber rattling, and sometimes even overt threats. But for sake of our troops, overt threats before concluding what appears to be earnest, ongoing negotiations is unwise. Wholly apart from the aggressive tone, America’s adversaries know that the U.S. never goes to war without “all instruments of [our nation’s] power on the table.” For the soldiers who will bear those arms, we would expect no less.
Clark was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1997 to 2000 and commanded Operation Allied Forces in the Kosovo War. He is an active Democrat and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. Reeder is a former U.S. Army undersecretary.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/198214-speak-softly
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