The time has come for the United States to strike Iran, a former Pentagon special adviser on Middle East defense policy and strategy told Army Radio on Sunday, adding that a U.S. military attack is the only option left to prevent Tehran from getting the bomb. Matthew Kroenig, 34, said that diplomatic efforts to stop Iran's nuclear trajectory had failed and therefore military action was now in order. He added that it should be the U.S., and not Israel, who plans and executes the strike. Instead of imposing more sanctions, Kroenig added, the U.S. should concentrate on drumming up support for military action. In an essay titled "Time to Attack Iran," which appears in next month's issue of the prestigious quarterly Foreign Affairs, Kroenig wrote that a military strike offers the least damaging option. "A military strike intended to destroy Irans nuclear program, if managed carefully, could spare the region and the world a very real threat and dramatically improve the long-term national security of the United States," he wrote, adding that the worst option would be to allow Iran to gain nuclear capability and then attempt to deal with it. The Iran expert further wrote that the moment Iran gains nuclear capability it could share its know-how with its allies in the region and spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. And worse, he added, Iran's entry into the nuclear club would force the U.S. to sustain a significant military presence in the Middle East for years to come, and to bolster the military capabilities of its allies in the region, all at a very high cost. Kroenig described several red lines which, if crossed, would necessitate a call for immediate military action: uranium enrichment at a level of 90 percent or the transfer of centrifuges to the nuclear facility at Qom. Such events, he added, represent the last window of opportunity to prevent Iran from developing a bomb. Addressing the option of an Israeli strike, Kroenig said that though it is viable, Israel's limited capabilities would make it less likely to achieve success than the U.S. military. Given Israel's limited capability to mitigate a potential battle and inflict lasting damage," he said, an Israeli strike "would likely result in far more devastating consequences and carry a far lower probability of success than a U.S. attack." Kroenig added that perceived U.S. weakness in the face of Iran has already prompted several players in the region to transfer their allegiance from the U.S. to Iran.
It's time the US attacks Iran, says ex-Pentagon adviser
Matthew Kroenig, former special adviser on Middle East defense and policy, asserts that the U.S., not Israel, should strike • Kroenig: A military strike intended to destroy Irans nuclear program could dramatically improve U.S. national security.
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