Bunker-busting bombs can't do what talks can
Israel's friends in Washington will do well to advise against a military strike on Iran
If there was ever any reason needed to highlight the folly of contemplating a strike against Iran over its development of a nuclear weapon, then the latest revelations out of Washington serve as proof enough.
A classified war simulation exercise held earlier this month to assess the United States military's capabilities to respond to an Israeli attack on Iran forecast that the strike would lead to a wider regional war. That conflagration would draw in the US and leave hundreds of dead US servicemen, Pentagon sources have revealed.
And the assessment only looked at the US military fallout — one shudders to think what the implications would be for the wider Arab world and the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in particular.
Sadly, the region is still dealing with the consequences of US intervention in Iraq almost a decade ago — and the last thing the nations of the GCC need is more destabilisation as a result of ill-conceived military intervention.
Israel has powerful and influential friends in Washington, but now is not the time for officials, elected or unelected, to pander to Tel Aviv. True friends would advise caution and say that the path of peace is one that needs to be cherished and fostered.
The consequences of an Israeli strike on nuclear facilities on Iranian sovereign soil would be a prima facie breach of international law and the norms of global behaviour. The only way forward is to engage Iran through dialogue and communication, negotiation and diplomacy. Bunker-busting bombs are not in the lexicon of any diplomat.
Washington should take heed of this Pentagon study. Does the American public really have the stomach for yet another war in the region? Hasn't there been too much blood of all creed and colour spilled in the name of ill-considered US intervention?
