Iran Nuclear Crisis: Military Options

[pcs]

From the The Weekly Standard

 

A MILITARY OPTION AGAINST Iran's nuclear facilities is feasible. A diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis is preferable' date=' but without a credible military option and the will to implement it, diplomacy will not succeed. The announcement of uranium enrichment last week by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shows Iran will not bow easily to diplomatic pressure. The existence of a military option may be the only means of persuading Iran--the world's leading sponsor of terrorism--to back down from producing nuclear weapons.

 

A military option would be all the more credible if backed by a new coalition of the willing and if coupled with intense diplomacy during a specific time frame. The coalition could include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Britain, France, and Germany. Solidarity is important and would surely contribute to potential diplomatic success. But should others decline the invitation, the United States must be prepared to act.[/quote']

 

The thrust of the article is pretty easy to follow.

 

1. The primary objective is Iran's NBC production capacity and delivery capability. Secondary objective is the destruction of Iran's power to project, principally into the Persian Gulf.

 

2. The proposal recognizes our chief operational advantage in any such campaign; three divisions of ready forces within striking distance of the Iran-Iraq border and landair assembly opportunity available from both east and west.

 

3. The proposal emphasizes planning rooted in rapidly delivered, overwhelming effects following ground preparation by reconnaissance in force (the covert [as much as possible] component).

 

4. The proposal hopes to leverage, but does not rely on, an opportunity for regime change rooted in the economic, political and ethnic faultlines resulting from two decades of Islamist rule.