Military Force Remains Option On Iran: Top U.S. Officer

Although diplomacy and politics offer better ways to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, the use of military force must remain an option, the top U.S. military officer said on Monday.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua)

While saying he will "fully support the effort to focus on diplomatic solutions to existing tensions" on the issue, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen said in a memo that the United States must have the military option on the table.

At another point, he conceded that "political means are the best tools to attain regional security and that military force will have limited results."

"However, should the president call for military options, we must have them ready," he added.

In the six-page memo laying out his objectives for 2010, Mullen also hints at the challenge presented by the 18-month window before U.S. troops will start to withdraw from Afghanistan.

"Our main effort now must be to push forces into the theater as quickly as possible -- including shifting the balance of enablers from Iraq," he said.

Mullen also expressed his concern that the U.S. military force won't be ready for a different kind of war other than the fights in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will end, and we must think today about how the U.S. military will need to adapt to future threats," he added.

The United States, its European allies and Israel claim that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, while the UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.

However, Iran insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, and continues its uranium enrichment activity despite the pressure from Western countries and relevant resolutions and sanctions of the United Nations.