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November 28, 2004
Abizaid warns Iran not to underestimate US
Topics: Middle East News and PerspectivesFrom HiPakistan.com(Eng) comes this report :
A top US commander has
warned Iran and other countries never to underestimate the US air and
naval power, discounting concerns that the US forces are too tied down
in Iraq to respond to challenges elsewhere.
"To deter a nation state you should never underestimate the air and naval power of the United States," General John Abizaid, the commander of US forces in the Middle East, told AFP in a joint interview late on Friday."
"Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me. We have an incredible amount of power," he said.
Abizaid made the comment in response to questions about whether the United States, with the bulk of its ground forces tied down in Iraq, had the means to meet other contingencies such as a conflict with Iran.
Abizaid pointed to the US-led assault on the former Iraqi rebel stronghold of Fallujah as an example of the overwhelming force that can be brought to bear by a relatively small ground force of some 10,000 troops backed by air strikes launched from US aircraft carriers in the Gulf.
"And so we can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on earth, and everybody knows it," he said and added: "If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding there is no power that can match us militarily," he said, speaking as he flew to his headquarters here from Afghanistan.
Lawmakers from both US parties have pressed for increase in the size of the army, warning that US ground forces have been strained to breaking point by a longer, more violent struggle to pacify Iraq than anticipated.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has resisted calls for permanent increase in the size of the army, relying instead on temporary increase and a reorganisation to squeeze more combat brigades from the existing force.
"The question is do you need to have a very, very large conventional land force to deal with the forseeable problems of the next 20 years?" said Abizaid. "My answer is if the international community hangs together and there is not a bloc of nations for example that would come together in some way as to present a threat to the United States, we've got it about right," he said. As it pursues a long war against Muslim extremism, the United States should rely on local forces to fight insurgents, he said.
Posted by Hyscience at November 28, 2004 12:59 AM
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