10:21 am
Scowcroft Warns against Attack on Iran (Vandy Prize Winner)
In a joint appearance with Zbigniew Brzezinski at CISIS yesterday, Bush 41 National Security Advisor (and Bush 43 gadfly) Brent Scowcroft warned against a preemptive strike on Iran:
“Don’t talk about ‘do we bomb them now or later?’ ” said Brent Scowcroft…. Scowcroft added that by mentioning that threat, “we legitimize the use of force . . . and may tempt the Israelis” to carry out such a mission. He said he thinks that negotiations must continue and that sanctions have had an effect on Tehran, noting that even with elevated oil prices, Iran, alone among oil producers, is having a difficult time economically.
Steve Clemons over at The Washington Note has a longer post on this, and notes that Brzezinski and Scowcroft will release a new book, “America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy” in September.
For new readers: The Arthur Vandenberg Prize (a.k.a. the Vandy) honors those who embrace bipartisanship in foreign policy, even when doing so might not be popular with or politically convenient for their own side. It is named for the late Michigan Republican Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, best known for his support for the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan in the face of pressure from the isolationist wing of his own party.