July 5, 2009 11:49 AM

Mullen: Iran Strike Would Be Destabilizing

By
Michelle Levi
Topics
In The News
(CBS)
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a U.S. strike on Iran would be "very destabilizing," as would a nuclear Iran, during an assessment of American foreign policy in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Russia on "Face the Nation" Sunday.

The top military commander said America has "a very narrow window" of appropriate actions in the defiant country.

On the U.S.'s counterinsurgency strike in southern Afghanistan last week, Mullen said, "I'm comfortable with the strategy." He said the mission, which is largely focused on security for Afghanis, will include some of the "toughest fighting" the country has seen.

"It's already started out to be pretty tough. We've made some advances early. But I suspect it will be tough for a while," he said.

On Pakistan, Mullen said that country's efforts combating Taliban extremists have gone "pretty well" and mark an improvement.

In addition to saying he is "comfortable" with the defensive posture being taken against North Korea, Mullen discussed the strategy of decreasing U.S. troop strength in Iraq to guest moderator CBS News political analyst John Dickerson.

The admiral will accompany President Obama to Moscow Monday.


To watch Adm. Mullen's appearance on "Face the Nation" click on the video player below.


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Add a Comment
by stmtraveler July 7, 2009 10:29 PM EDT
Israeli attack and the consequences:
Yes, Israel may attack Iran. But would USA join in and support Israel as we did for Sadam Hossein? What would be the consequence of this attack?

First of all it will unify the Iranian people in one voice against Israel and USA, count on it.
Second, the attack will not stop there; it will drag the entire region into an anti-American union against USA-England and Israel.

The attack will create a very powerful force of dedicated people with one purpose to remove Israel and USA from the region. The attack will be seen as a coordinated attack by USA using Israel as a surrogate.

The attack of Sadam Hossein on Iran consolidated Iranian and their government into a united force after 1979 revolution. USA must think through the long term implication of a foolish attack on Iran before removing the leash from Israel. We have been in war in both Iraq and Afghanistan for about 7 years; count on a regional war for half-century. USA has been paying the price for our 1953 attack on the Iranian nation.
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by LynnDalie July 5, 2009 6:34 PM EDT
Mullen doesn't discuss a US strike on Iran (unlike the first line in the report), he discusses the American position on ISRAEL'S potential of a strike - this is inaccurate reporting by the author of the article and something the editor should have caught - watch the video
Reply to this comment
by timothyjo July 5, 2009 6:23 PM EDT
Plus we dont want our a ss kicked remember close call for us in iraq and they were unarmed third world country.iran has a arm of sorts and we barely crawled out of iraqi with our tails between our legs. hopefully we will have better luck in agf.
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by beentheir1 July 5, 2009 3:48 PM EDT
A strike on Iran would be a big mistake. A strike on Israel will be WW-III!!! Now lets see, which one should we do? Dam I hate hard Questions like this one!!!!, But we have Obama in Chief, the leader of the Tribe of the United States of America. I feel so much better knowing that what ever happens, that he will step up to the plate and state that the buck stops their, it's Bush's Falt, that they didn't expect that it was in this bad of shape, that Bush didn't tell them, it's Bush's Falt, it's Bush's Falt, it's Bush's Falt, what great leaders you voted in, it's Bush's Falt!!!!
Reply to this comment
by iam4honesty July 5, 2009 4:50 PM EDT
Couple of questions:

First, "The buck stops their"... what?
Second, I looked, it's notd in the dictionary, what is a falt?
by ToolMangler1 July 5, 2009 4:55 PM EDT
Do you really think that we are going to avoid a war???? Iran, NK, Palestine, Alky Aida and the taliban are dead set on makng it happen. It has been foretold, prophesied and written in about every prophetic book by some of the worlds best minds not to mention Biblically promised by GOD. It amazes me that people still think they 'control' their own fate. They don't 'control' anything but their own wishes, the rest is just a result of these wishes.......
by johninpennsyl July 5, 2009 2:57 PM EDT
I lost a lot of respect for admirals when they stopped wearing those big wide hats with the plumes,like Napoleon wore.
Maybe they still wear them and he just took it off because he was indoors?
Reply to this comment
by futuresmkt July 5, 2009 1:53 PM EDT
I find it unconscienable and dangerous that flag/general officers, in fact any officer, of the U. S. military are not only quoted but, actually giving interviews on subjects that are..ABOVE THEIR PAY GRADE!! I believe this is a silppery slope which began with the abolishment of the draft, which decoupled military service from civilian oversight and moves us toward the military becoming a co-equal branch of government. Question to Secretary Gates.., how do you exercise control over the DoD when you can't pre-determine what they will say to the general public about matters of State? Please, restrict public statements of serving military officers to their civilian superiors.
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by pensacola8-2009 July 5, 2009 2:28 PM EDT
I find nothing inappropriate about Admiral Mullins press release. He reports matters from a very prominent perch in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I find his views accurate, and complete enough to serve the purpose of the press release.

From Admiral Mullen's report, we can gain perspective about both solutions and resolutions and learn that only those situations where the two that exist together, are currently under operation at this time.

In every situation, there are solutions and resolutions, but not all exist together and become do-able.

The USA now has a strong diplomatic mission under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that marches in step with the solutions and resolutions of Dod, the White House, the House and the Senate. Their statements are congruent, consistent and employ a far larger forum for gathering solutions and resolutions than existed under the GOP.
by cbsantispin July 5, 2009 9:04 PM EDT
I saw Admiral Mike Mullen's interview and thought it was well delivered and within his "pay grade" as you put it. When questions were asked outside of Admiral Mullen's area of responsibility he pointed it out and mentioned the question had to be directed to the appropriate party. To make the point even further, I thought Admiral Mullen went out of his way to observe protocol and chain of command respect when it looked like he was being prompted to put one administration official against the other. In my opinion Admiral Mike Mullen is the right Chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in this dangerous period in our nations history, level headed and realistic down to earth perspective on global events. Admiral Mullen also will get the maximum advantage out of our U.S. Navy and knows right where and how to deploy it, after all, those are his boats out there.
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