'Strike on Iran could upset Middle East'
Jul. 2, 2008 Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
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An Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would be a high-risk move
that could destabilize the Middle East, the top US military officer said
Wednesday.

At a Defense Department news conference, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, refused to say what Israeli leaders told him during
meetings last week about any intentions to strike Iran.

But asked whether he was concerned Israel would strike before the end of the
year, he said: "This is a very unstable part of the world and I don't need
it to be more unstable."

The US military is severely strained already by wars on two fronts - the
nearly seven-year-old campaign in Afghanistan and more than five years in
Iraq.

"Opening up a third front right now would be extremely stressful on us,"
Mullen said.

The Bush administration and other world leaders allege Iran is seeking to
produce nuclear weapons and Iran says its nuclear program is aimed only at
generating electricity.

"I believe they're still on a path to get nuclear weapons and I think that's
something that needs to be deterred," Mullen said, adding that it should be
done through diplomatic, financial and economic actions by the US and other
nations.

But, he added, "I think that just about every move in that part of the world
is a high-risk move."

In a news conference earlier in the day, President George W. Bush also was
asked about increasing speculation that Israel will launch a military
strike, saying that all options are on the table but that military action
would not be his first choice.

"I have made it very clear to all parties that the first option ought to be
solve this problem diplomatically," Bush said. "And the best way to solve it
diplomatically is for the United States to work with other nations to send a
focused message - and that is, you will be isolated, and you will have
economic hardship, if you continue to enrich" uranium for a bomb.