Listen to Military Advisers

October 31, 2007
“Given the nature of Iran's rulers, the declarations of the Iranian president, and the trouble the regime is causing throughout the region - including direct involvement in the killing of Americans - our country and the entire international community cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ambitions…The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences. The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
--Vice President Richard Cheney, Washington Institute's Weinberg Founders Conference, October 21, 2007
  • “I think the diplomatic approach with Iran is a very important one. I would not want to take military options off the table. However, I think they clearly are options of last resort… I think that we have to be very mindful of risks associated with follow-on steps which would engage us in yet a third country in that part of the world in any kind of conflict. So I think it is very important that we bring all the pressure we can to get that country to act responsibly in every dimension possible. Diplomatic, financial, whatever the pressures that can be brought should be brought.”
    --Admiral Michael Mullen, USN, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Center for a New American Security’s National Security Leadership Forum, October 25, 2007


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    “We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

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