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Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today reacted sharply to a new TIME magazine report that the Bush administration has ordered U.S. Navy and U.S. Central Command leaders to begin planning for military action against Iran, possibly as early as this fall.
“The TIME magazine report that the Bush Administration has directed the Navy and the Central Command to begin exploring options for conducting a naval blockade of Iran is alarming,” said Holt. “This is Iraq all over again. The Administration is hyping a threat despite the fact that it knows our intelligence on Iran is poor, contradictory, or both.”
Holt was referring to the September 25 edition of TIME magazine, which reports that Admiral Vern Clark, the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations, sent a “prepare to deploy” order to several U.S. Navy ships—including two minesweepers and two mine hunters—to be ready to leave for the Persian Gulf by October 1, even as Clark was asking his staff to revisit U.S. plans to blockade Iranian oil ports. The magazine also reported that U.S. Central Command’s commanding general, John Abizaid, had called a commander’s conference for late September, at which Iran would be discussed.
Holt noted that the U.S. intelligence community has significant gaps in its knowledge about Iran’s military capabilities, intentions, and political situation, and that these gaps were allowed to fester by Congress.
“In April 2006, when the Intelligence Authorization bill went to the Rules Committee, House Republicans blocked an amendment offered by my colleague on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA), that would have required quarterly, classified reports on Iran,” said Holt. “These reports were to include whether our intelligence efforts were being successful in closing various intelligence gaps. Now, we are left without the critical information needed to make a rational, fact-based decision.
“The lessons of the invasion of Iraq should be fresh on our minds. Supposition, innuendo, and guesswork about a potential adversary are a poor way to make decisions about war and peace—as our experience in Iraq has so painfully shown. Because the intelligence, such as it is, does not say "imminent threat" the Administration should explain why its plans for military action are being considered at this time.”
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