WASHINGTON (AFX) - Critics of the George W Bush administration expressed alarm Sunday about explosive new reports that the president is mulling military options to knock out Iran's nuclear program.
Retired General Anthony Zinni, the former head of US Central Command, told US television Sunday that he had no detailed knowledge of the alleged military plans, but he suggested a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear program would be extremely risky.
'Any military plan involving Iran is going to be very difficult. We should not fool ourselves to think it will just be a strike and then it will be over,' said Zinni.
'The Iranians will retaliate, and they have many possibilities in an area where there are many vulnerabilities, from our troop positions to the oil and gas in the region that can be interrupted, to attacks on Israel, to the conduct of terrorism,' he said.
Zinni made his remarks after the publication of a pair of reports this weekend saying that the administration is seriously considering military action against Iran, amid a stalemate in diplomatic efforts.
The New Yorker magazine reported in its April 17 issue that the administration is planning a massive bombing campaign against Iran, including use of bunker-buster nuclear bombs to destroy a key suspected Iranian nuclear weapons facility.
The article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said that Bush and others in the White House have come to view Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential 'Adolf Hitler.'
'That's the name they're using,' Hersh quoted a former senior intelligence official as saying.
Democratic Senator John Kerry, one of the administration's most outspoken critics, assailed the White House for being unable to deftly use international diplomacy as a political tool, and for a too-ready reliance on military might.
'That is another example of the shoot-from-the-hip, cowboy diplomacy of this administration,' he told NBC television's 'Meet the Press' program.
'What you really need here is China and Russia to join with the United States and others in serious sanctions,' the former Democratic presidential contender said.
Meanwhile, according to a report Sunday in the Washington Post, Bush is studying options for military strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy to pressure Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear program.
Citing unnamed US officials and independent analysts, the newspaper said no attack appears likely in the short term, but officials are preparing for it as a possible future option and are using the threat to convince Iranians of the seriousness of its intentions.
The paper said Bush views Tehran as a serious menace that must be dealt with before his presidency ends, and the White House, in its new National Security Strategy, labeled Iran the most serious challenge to the United States posed by any country.
Zinni said he shared Washington's concerns about Tehran's motives, but said diplomatic efforts should first be exhausted.
Elsewhere, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dismissed claims that the US was preparing for military action against Iran as 'completely nuts', and questioned the reliability of the reports' source.
Instead, he said he believed Washington was still committed to using negotiation and diplomatic pressure to resolve the matter.
He told BBC television that the international community was right to view the Islamic republic's nuclear programme with 'high suspicion' but 'there is no smoking gun, there is no 'casus belli' (justification for war)'. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited