Leslie Gelb, President Emeritus and Board Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has a piece at the Daily Beast which warns not just against starting a war with Iran, but against “letting a bunch of ignorant, sloppy-thinking politicians and politicized foreign-policy experts draw ‘red line’ ultimatums” and march us hyperventilating into an unprovoked preemptive strike on Iran.
His key point: in the past, Americans have had faith that their leaders knew what they were doing getting us into war, but history tells us they don’t know shit.
Except for those who would bless the sound of the cannon wherever it led, everyone soon realized the terrible truth: that government leaders had little or no idea what they were doing, what the invaded country was really like, and what could and could not be accomplished at what cost. By then, it was too late.
The whole thing is worth a read. I think it’s noteworthy because it illustrates that even many of those firmly within the foreign policy establishment of imperial forever war are cautioning against the psychotic babble of warmongering politicians. Here is Paul Pillar’s comments on Gelb’s piece.
