Commission Recommends U.S. Use ‘Direct Force’–If Needed–to Stop Iran, N. Korea Nuke Programs

CNSNews
December 4, 2008

A bipartisan commission appointed by Congress is warning the incoming Obama administration that it must not rule out the use of “direct force” – military action – against Iran and North Korea, if diplomatic negotiations fail to stop their nuclear weapons programs.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

At a news conference Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked the commission’s chairman, former Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), if the panel was recommending that the U.S. take “military action” against Iran and North Korea, if negotiations and other tactics fail.

“We cannot omit from our range of options the use of direct force if other means are unsuccessful,” Graham said.

The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) Proliferation and Terrorism report contains a series of recommendations to the incoming Obama administration on how to deal with the threat of weapons of mass destruction.

As one of its recommendations, the commission recommends that, as a top priority, “the next administration must stop the Iranian and North Korean nuclear weapons programs.”

The commission was explicit in its language.

“In the case of Iran, this requires the permanent cessation of all of Iran’s nuclear weapons-related efforts,” the commissioners wrote. “In the case of North Korea, this requires the complete abandonment and dismantlement of all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.”

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