This Is Why Iran Has No Fear Of The US

So just what is the official US policy towards Iran?
If you read the news--it's not clear if even the US knows.

The AP reports:

US official: Iran military strike 'off the table'

The U.S. has ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program any time soon, hoping instead negotiations and United Nations sanctions will prevent the Middle East nation from developing nuclear weapons, a top U.S. defense department official said Wednesday.
"Military force is an option of last resort," Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy said during a press briefing in Singapore. "It's off the table in the near term."

Meanwhile, Reuters reports:

Option of striking Iran never off the table: Pentagon

U.S. military action against Iran remains an option even as the United States pursues diplomacy and sanctions to halt the country's nuclear program, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

"We are not taking any options off the table as we pursue the pressure and engagement tracks," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. "The president always has at his disposal a full array of options, including use of the military ... It is clearly not our preferred course of action but it has never been, nor is it now, off the table."

Morrell was responding to questions about comments by Michele Flournoy, U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, in Singapore.

"The military option is an option of last resort. It is not a preferred option," Flournoy told reporters. "It is not on the table in the near term."

It all goes back to that secret memorandum:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has warned in a secret three-page memorandum to top White House officials that the United States does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with Iran’s steady progress toward nuclear capability

If the US cannot keep their policy straight--and relevant--then Iran is not going to pay attention to anything the US has to say about their nuclear program.

Technorati Tag: Iran.