236 Barack H. Obama: The Unauthorized Biographyinternational community to apply more pressure on Iran to cease nuclear activities. That
pressure should come in the form of economic sanctions, he said. But if those measures fall
short, the United States should not rule out military strikes to destroy nuclear production sites in
Iran, Obama said. “The big question is going to be, if Iran is resistant to these pressures,
including economic sanctions, which I hope will be imposed if they do not cooperate, at what
point are we going to, if any, are we going to take military action?” Obama asked. Given the
continuing war in Iraq, the United States is not in a position to invade Iran, but missile strikes
might be a viable option, he said. Obama conceded that such strikes might further strain
relations between the U.S. and the Arab world. “In light of the fact that we’re now in Iraq, with
all the problems in terms of perceptions about America that have been created, us launching
some missile strikes into Iran is not the optimal position for us to be in,” he said. “On the other
hand, having a radical Muslim theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse. So I guess
my instinct would be to err on not having those weapons in the possession of the ruling clerics
of Iran. ... And I hope it doesn’t get to that point. But realistically, as I watch how this thing has
evolved, I’d be surprised if Iran blinked at this point.” As for Pakistan, Obama said that if
President Pervez Musharraf were to lose power in a coup, the United States similarly might
have to consider military action in that country to destroy nuclear weapons it already possesses.
Musharraf’s troops are battling hundreds of well-armed foreign militants and Pakistani
tribesmen in increasingly violent confrontations. Obama said that violent Islamic extremists are
a vastly different brand of foe than was the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and they must be
treated differently. “With the Soviet Union, you did get the sense that they were operating on a
model that we could comprehend in terms of, they don’t want to be blown up, we don’t want to
be blown up, so you do game theory and calculate ways to contain,” Obama said. “I think there
are certain elements within the Islamic world right now that don’t make those same
calculations. “... I think there are elements within Pakistan right now–if Musharraf is
overthrown and they took over, I think we would have to consider going in and taking those
bombs out, because I don’t think we can make the same assumptions about how they calculate
risks.” (David Mendell, “Obama would consider missile strikes on Iran,” Chicago Tribune,
September 25, 2004)
These remarks are a foreshadowing of Obama’s call in the July 2007 Democratic candidates’
debate in Chicago for US bombing raids to be conducted on a unilateral basis in northern Pakistan,
without consultation of the Musharraf government, and thus wantonly violating the national
sovereignty of a very large and very proud nation which happens to possess nuclear weapons. At
that time, Clinton, McCain, and even Bush had rejected this demand on various grounds, but by
January 2008 Obama’s demand for the reckless and unilateral US bombing of Pakistan had become
a reality, as reported by the Washington Post and other published sources. Naturally, Obama’s
motion had passed thanks to the ascendancy inside the US government of the Zbigniew Brzezinski
faction, as whose puppet Obama functions. But in September 2004, even the Chicago Tribune could
see that there was something strange about being a dove on Iraq and a hawk on the two larger
countries further east:
Obama’s willingness to consider additional military action in the Middle East comes despite his
early and vocal opposition to the Iraq war. Obama, however, also has stressed that he is not
averse to using military action as a last resort, although he believes that President Bush did not
make that case for the Iraq invasion... (David Mendell, “Obama would consider missile strikes
on Iran,” Chicago Tribune, September 25, 2004)