Iran, Diplomacy,and the US Military

Retired US general Paul Eaton, who was once in charge of training the Iraqi army, had this to say about the Senator Tom Cotton's letter to the government of Iran, signed by 47 Republican senators:

I would use the word mutinous. . . . What Senator Cotton did is a gross breach of discipline, and especially as a veteran of the Army, he should know better. I have no issue with Senator Cotton, or others, voicing their opinion in opposition to any deal to halt Iran’s nuclear progress. Speaking out on these issues is clearly part of his job. But to directly engage a foreign entity, in this way, undermining the strategy and work of our diplomats and our Commander in Chief, strains the very discipline and structure that our foreign relations depend on, to succeed.The breach of discipline is extremely dangerous, because undermining our diplomatic efforts, at this moment, brings us another step closer to a very costly and perilous war with Iran. I think Senator Cotton recognizes this, and he simply does not care. That’s what disappoints me the most.

Some Republican politicians may be chomping at the bit for a war with Iran, but the US military is not.

In the Pentagon and the State Department they are betting that within a decade or two the Islamic Revolution will be overthrown by the mass of young, pro-western Iranians, and they think the one thing that might entrench the mullahs in power for fifty years would be an attack by the US. So they really don't want to pick a fight now.