Apprehensive that Bush's "hard line" toward Iran is a "prelude" to a U.S military campaign against Iran, 21 former U.S. generals, diplomats and national security officials will release an open letter to the president tomorrow, demanding, according to the Los Angeles Times, a "a complete overhaul of U.S. policy toward both Iran and Iraq."
More from the Times:
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard, one of the letter's signers and a former military assistant to Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara in the 1960s, said the group was particularly concerned about administration policies toward Iran, believing them to be a possible prelude to a military attack on suspected nuclear sites in that country.
..."It's not a crisis," Gard said in a telephone interview. "To call the Iranian situation a 'crisis' connotes you have to do something right now, like bomb them."
As Plutonium Page diaried well more than a year ago, these voices are being joined to that of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Hans Blix.
It appears that any action against Iran will not be able to filed under the "Nobody could have anticipated ..." category in the Bush White House. When such experts come out so openly and vigorously - and preemptively - against a destructive path, there's hope that no matter how desperately the president wants to expand the violence, the public and the press will be armed with solid ammunition against the attempt.