08-12-2015, 12:13 PM
High Ranking Military Support for Iran Deal
Thirty six retired US generals and admirals published an open letter Tuesday giving their full backing of the Iranian nuclear deal, hailing it as “the most effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”
“The international deal blocks the potential pathways to a nuclear bomb, provides for intrusive verification, and strengthens American national security. America and our allies, in the Middle East and around the world, will be safer when this agreement is fully implemented,” they wrote.
In the two-page letter, the retired brass urged the American people and the US Congress — which is set to vote on the deal next month — to support the controversial accord lest Iran build a nuclear weapon in less than a year, and argued that diplomacy should be given a chance before the military option is considered.
“If at some point it becomes necessary to consider military action against Iran, gathering sufficient international support for such an effort would only be possible if we have first given the diplomatic path a chance. We must exhaust diplomatic options before moving to military ones,” the letter read.
“For the security of our nation, we call upon Congress and the American people to support this agreement,” the generals wrote, adding that “if the deal is rejected by America, the Iranians could have a nuclear weapon within a year. The choice is that stark.”
The signatories to the letter include General James Cartwright, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, a former Commander in Chief of the Central Command; and Gen. Merrill McPeak, former Chief of Staff of the US Air Force and Read Admiral Harold L. Robinson, with the US Navy.
Story: http://www.timesofisrael.com/36-retired-...iran-deal/
The Letter: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentclou...ls-and.pdf
Thirty six retired US generals and admirals published an open letter Tuesday giving their full backing of the Iranian nuclear deal, hailing it as “the most effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”
“The international deal blocks the potential pathways to a nuclear bomb, provides for intrusive verification, and strengthens American national security. America and our allies, in the Middle East and around the world, will be safer when this agreement is fully implemented,” they wrote.
In the two-page letter, the retired brass urged the American people and the US Congress — which is set to vote on the deal next month — to support the controversial accord lest Iran build a nuclear weapon in less than a year, and argued that diplomacy should be given a chance before the military option is considered.
“If at some point it becomes necessary to consider military action against Iran, gathering sufficient international support for such an effort would only be possible if we have first given the diplomatic path a chance. We must exhaust diplomatic options before moving to military ones,” the letter read.
“For the security of our nation, we call upon Congress and the American people to support this agreement,” the generals wrote, adding that “if the deal is rejected by America, the Iranians could have a nuclear weapon within a year. The choice is that stark.”
The signatories to the letter include General James Cartwright, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, a former Commander in Chief of the Central Command; and Gen. Merrill McPeak, former Chief of Staff of the US Air Force and Read Admiral Harold L. Robinson, with the US Navy.
Story: http://www.timesofisrael.com/36-retired-...iran-deal/
The Letter: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentclou...ls-and.pdf