CentCom’s Gen Mattis: attack on Iran would be ‘disaster’
Posted Saturday 4 December, 17:10 Bahrain time
By Dr Tim Huxley, Director for Defence and
Military Analysis
General James Mattis, the US Centcom commander,
shone through in this session as a sensible strategic thinker ready in a
low-key manner to speak his mind. While there was nothing exceptional in his
presentation, his responses to questions were anything but bland. While he
stressed that a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable not only to the United
States but also to the United Nations and the region, he was also clear that an
attack on Iran 'would be an absolute disaster'. There were already, he
indicated, grave concerns about the 'grim' ramifications of such an attack.
In Mattis' view, there has got to be a solution short of conflict. This
reinforced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's effort in her Special Address on
Friday evening to reach out to Iran's leaders on the nuclear issue. Mattis also
made clear his recognition that the Israel-Palestine issue 'underlies
everything' he's concerned with in the region. Stressing that President Obama
remains fully committed to advancing the peace process, Mattis spoke of
the 'security penalty' inherent in failure. And for that reason, he said in
answer to a question, America not only views European involvement positively -
Washington needs European support on this question.
