In probably the most pointed discussion of the Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. head of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey made no bones about the fact that the U.S. navy would clearly and decisively act to reverse that Iranian action.
From the report at The Jerusalem Post:
Iran has the ability to block the Strait of Hormuz “for a period of time,” and the US would take action to reopen it, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said Sunday.
“They’ve invested in capabilities that could, in fact, for a period of time block the Strait of Hormuz,” Dempsey said in an interview airing on the CBS “Face the Nation” program. “We’ve invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens, we can defeat that.”
Should Iran try to close Hormuz, the US “would take action and reopen” the waterway, said Dempsey, US President Barack Obama’s top military adviser.
Blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane linking the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf, would constitute a “red line” for the US, as would Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on the same program.
Continued pressure, rather than threats of air strikes, is the best way to forestall Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Panetta said.
The Iranians can't be this stupid. There's two reasons this would be suicide for them - first, this would give the West a perfect opportunity to expand operations against Iran and conduct a "nuclear clearinghouse" of Iranian nuke facilities under the guise of international provocation by the Iranians and second, the Iranians have ZERO support in closing the Strait of Hormuz. Sure, the Russians might clamor a bit but they would back down quickly especially if the coalition to open the Strait was large.
But at the same time, what the Iranians need right now is time - they desperately need time to finish their nuclear warhead work and get some testing done of nuclear missiles and one way to buy more time is to get the West occupied with a different kind of threat.
'US would take action against Iran closure of Hormuz'
Iran has the ability to block the Strait of Hormuz “for a period of time,” and the US would take action to reopen it, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said Sunday.
“They’ve invested in capabilities that could, in fact, for a period of time block the Strait of Hormuz,” Dempsey said in an interview airing on the CBS “Face the Nation” program. “We’ve invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens, we can defeat that.”
Should Iran try to close Hormuz, the US “would take action and reopen” the waterway, said Dempsey, US President Barack Obama’s top military adviser.
Blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane linking the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf, would constitute a “red line” for the US, as would Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on the same program.
Continued pressure, rather than threats of air strikes, is the best way to forestall Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Panetta said.
Panetta: Applying pressure on Iran is the responsible course of action
While the US shouldn’t “take any option off the table,“ Panetta said “the responsible thing to do right now is to keep putting diplomatic and economic pressure on them to force them to do the right thing and to make sure that they do not make the decision to proceed with the development of a nuclear weapon.”
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said January 1 on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would use air strikes against Iran unless the country dismantled its nuclear program or allowed inspectors to verify that the work isn’t aimed at making a weapon.
Dempsey suggested that curbing Iran’s nuclear work by bombing its facilities would be difficult.
“I’d rather not discuss the degree of difficulty and in any way encourage them to read anything into that,” Dempsey said. “My responsibility is to encourage the right degree of planning, to understand the risks associated with any kind of military option.”
US plans in case of Israeli strike
Should Israel decide to undertake a unilateral military strike against Iran, the US priority would be protecting American troops in the region, Panetta said.
Dempsey and Panetta sought on CBS to provide assurances that the new US military strategy, announced last week, won’t limit the US ability to stop aggressors.
“What we’re looking to do here is not constrain ourselves to a two-war construct, but rather build a force that has the kind of agility” needed to adapt to any scenario, Dempsey said. Previous US war planning called for preparing to fight two conventional wars simultaneously.
The plan was driven by the need to cut almost $490 billion from projected Pentagon spending through 2021, including about $261 billion through 2017. Panetta said last week the details won’t be released until the Pentagon presents its 2013 budget request to Congress by early February.
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