OPINION:
As a longtime admirer of Clifford May and John Bolton, I was disappointed to read Mr. May’s recent piece, “If John Bolton still had the president’s ear, he’d counsel against appeasing Iran” (Web, Sept. 17).
Mr. May accurately outlines Mr. Bolton’s strength as a hawkish hardliner, but he fails to acknowledge that the president alone remains the sole arbiter of whom he selects as his national security adviser. After serving for so many months in that position, Mr. Bolton was a known quantity, and the president hardly needed reminding that America should not submit to Islamist bullying.
Having made a strong case against the danger of U.S. inaction (since that could be taken by Iran and others as a sign of weakness), Mr. May does not offer any alternative actions.
In correspondence on this matter with Stephen Bryen (a previous undersecretary in the Defense Department), it was agreed that the raid on Saudi facilities should not have been a total surprise, and that it reflects badly on U.S. intelligence. The lack of adequate intelligence leaves us with very limited options when responding to Iranian aggression if we do not want to further destabilize the Middle East.
It is clear that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is overextended and arrogant, so we need to prepare to stop their activities in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, thereby limiting Iran’s geopolitical ambitions while keeping/enhancing economic pressure on all Iranian organizations. Allies should be prepared to join us and support such activities, which will help us avoid having to attack Iran.
STANLEY ORMAN
Rockville, Md.
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