LAT with his latest comments:
Using his strongest language on the subject to date, Gates told a group of Marine Corps students that a strike would probably delay Tehran's nuclear program from one to three years. A strike, however, would unify Iran, "cement their determination to have a nuclear program, and also build into the whole country an undying hatred of whoever hits them," he said.
If it's really true that air strikes might only set back Iran's program for one year, it's awfully hard to come up with a rationale that justifies the potential blowback. Five to ten years might be a different story, but I haven't heard many people offer numbers like that....
--Michael Crowley
