Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday flogged the Obama administration’s militarist credentials, stressing that the President is prepared to use force if Iran flagrantly violates the nuclear deal it signed with the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
Kerry made the remarks before the House Judiciary Committee, while stressing his belief that the agreement, if implemented, will prevent the longtime US adversary from secretly acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities.
“President Obama is the only president who has actually commissioned the development of a weapon that can do what is necessary to deal with the facilities that are at risk,” he said. “And he has not only commissioned its design, he has deployed it, and he has made it clear that Iran will not get a weapon.”
“He is prepared to use any option necessary in order to achieve that, but his preferred option is the one he is pursuing here, which is a diplomatic solution,” Kerry added, noting the administration has repeatedly taken this position in public before.
When asked by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) what would the administration would do if the Iranian government is revealed to be “cheating,” Kerry said: “Frankly, Congressman, that’s the easiest decision in the world for this president and for all of us here.”
In response to a follow-up from Castro about the “tipping point,” Kerry said it would occur after “clarity with respect to what effort is being put into breaking out–if that’s the choice they’ve made–and where they are in that process.”
“But we are convinced that with the depth of accountability and verification that is built into this agreement, we will have enormous tip-off to that,” he added.
Kerry also, at one point, described “conflict” as “almost inevitable” if opponents of the deal were able to override a presidential veto of any resolution of disapproval. He accused the agreement’s critics of “not even addressing” this.
In 2011, the US military purchased twenty “Massive Ordnance Penetrators” for $314 million from Boeing, and tested them at the facility in White Sands, N.M. where the first atomic bomb was detonated. The weapons, the LA Times reported that year, are “nearly five times heavier than anything in the US military’s arsenal.”
In an article published earlier this month about a possible military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, Time noted that MOPs “would get the assignment.”
“The US has leaked just enough information about the MOP to let the Iranians know that the Americans believe its use could set back Iranian efforts to develop a nuclear weapon for years,” the magazine reported.
