Editorial: The next war / Plans for an attack on Iran are misguided
Friday, April 21, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Apart from the folly of President Bush launching the United States into a war with Iran while American forces are spread-eagled across Iraq, there are other ominous aspects to such a development in the Middle East.
According to a lengthy report by Seymour M. Hersh in The New Yorker and other sources, there are already U.S. combat troop teams in Iran, carrying out reconnaissance and identifying bombing targets. The longer they stay, the more likely it is that Iran will end up with U.S. prisoners. Any capture of Americans would provide Tehran with a propaganda coup, and it would require difficult negotiations to pry U.S. prisoners loose. Iran could demand an exchange for prisoners being held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, for example.
A second troublesome point about a possible U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities is that use of tactical nuclear weapons -- bunker busters, they are called -- is apparently part of the planning. Administration sources have denied that use of nuclear weapons is under consideration. We certainly hope so, because any U.S. first use of nuclear weapons would be so contradictory to international agreements signed by Washington and to its stated position on nuclear weapons, that it would practically put America in the category of outlaw state.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06111/683876-192.stm:toast:
Great work by the P-G Editorial board