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The U.S. and Its Allies Can Still Make Iran Blink

(Bloomberg) Adm. (ret.) James Stavridis - The Trump administration's initial decision to strike Iran in retaliation for the destruction of a $130 million drone was understandable yet dangerous. There is little question that a military strike on, say, the missile battery that downed the Global Hawk reconnaissance drone on Thursday would be justified. It was clearly a conscious call by the regime, and I seriously doubt the claim that it was in Iranian airspace. In my experience, the navigational precision of these aircraft is superb - far better than manned flights. I have never heard of a high-end drone like this being deliberately or accidentally flown into a hostile nation's territorial airspace. The U.S. is studying military options other than a strike, according to Pentagon leadership. Those presented to the president will likely include moves like cyberattacks on parts of the Iranian grid. The best approach for the White House right now is to declare the non-strike an effective show of America's military potential, and then assess whether the Iranians really want to further ramp up aggression. The problem is that it's hard to see a climb-down for the Iranians at this point. For the U.S., the key strategic effort ought to be winning over the European and Asian allies to condemn Iranian behavior. The writer, former supreme allied commander of NATO, is dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
2019-06-24 00:00:00
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