The Blog

Not Preparing For War?

1:56 PM, Feb 2, 2007 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB
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During a Pentagon briefing today, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates assured reporters that the United States wasn't preparing for a war with Iran. Said Gates,

The president has made clear, the secretary of state has made clear, I've made clear--nobody is planning--we are not planning for a war with Iran. What we are trying to do is, in Iraq, counter what the Iranians are doing to our soldiers, their involvement in activities, particularly these explosively-formed projectiles that are killing our troops.

One hopes that isn't true. For more than $500 billion, somebody at the Pentagon ought to be preparing for war with Canada. Surely the Pentagon has multiple contingency plans for any potential conflict with Iran, but why not keep up the pressure with a more ambiguous response. How about, "as the president's made clear, all options are on the table." Leave diplomacy to the diplomats. The secretary of defense ought not worry so much about easing the fears of our enemies.

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