Military force against Iran still an option: US

WASHINGTON: America’s top military officer has said that using US military force against Iran remains an option, though it would be a “last resort.”
“Iran is unhelpful in many, many ways in many, many areas, and so I wouldn’t be overly optimistic at this point,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told foreign correspondents on Tuesday. Mullen spoke of positive change in Iraq and credited the reduction in violence there to the troop surge and the changes in Iraqis’ perception of Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.Clearly, security is much better, but it isn’t just having the extra troops,” he said. “It’s how they’re being employed. And that strategy has worked up to this point in time, very effectively. And it has a lot to do with being out in the villages and towns and out and about where the Iraqi citizens live.”
Conceding that Baghdad still is “a very violent city,” he said violence has been reduced in most parts of the country, “with the Iraqi people themselves playing a key role.”
On being asked what was the single biggest challenge facing the US military, Mullen replied, “Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
He said President Barack Obama made that clear, which “sends a very strong message that Afghanistan and Pakistan are at the top of the list ... The selection of former Ambassador (Richard) Holbrooke to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan is another very strong signal.”
Turning to India and Pakistan, the chairman said contacts with India are good and growing.
“We are in a position where we’ve had in recent years an increased number of military-to-military contacts, and I think that’s positive,” he said. “I’m actually very positive about the continuing and emerging relationship between the United States and India.”