“There should be no confusion by our allies and adversaries that the United States is properly and energetically focused on this question and prepared to act across a broad range of contingencies in support of our interests.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html?hp
Regrettably, Gates' assertion conflicts with Obama administration policy publicly announced in 2010. As observed by Hillary Clinton on Al-Arabiya television on February 17:
"Obviously, we don't want Iran to become a nuclear weapons power, but we are not planning anything other than going for sanctions."
After Hillary Clinton took the military option off the table, Obama further defanged any threat to Iran by stating earlier this month that sanctions being sought by the U.S. would not be "crippling," as previously suggested by Hillary Clinton, but might have "bite."
Gates would have us believe that the military option is once again extant?
Together with National Security Advisor General James Jones ("we have . . . successfully [built] a coalition of nations to isolate Iran and pressure it to live up to its obligations"), Gates is quickly learning to play the obfuscation game on a behalf of a president who has signed away America's deterrent power.
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