Jimmy Carter: U.S. Shouldn’t Bomb Iran Even If They Get a Nuclear Weapon
Former President Jimmy Carter joined MSNBC’s Chris Matthews for an interview on Hardball Wednesday and made some news by saying he does not think the United States should bomb Iran even if they were to succeed in building an operational nuclear weapon. This statement differs not only from recent comments made by former Vice President Dick Cheney but also from the stated position of President Barack Obama.
“I never have felt that Israel had a capability militarily to go 1,200 miles or more and bomb Iran effectively and then return back to Israel,” said of Cheney’s suggestion that Israel could attack Iran unilaterally. “The only country on earth that has that capability would be the United States, and i don’t believe it’s appropriate for the United States to bomb Iran over this issue.”
When Matthews asked him if that position would apply even if Iran was in possession of a nuclear weapon, Carter replied, “Well, you know, if they got one nuclear weapon, Israel has, what, 300 or more, nobody knows exactly how many. And I know that every Iranian realizes that if they should try to use a nuclear weapon, Iran would be wiped off the face of the earth, which I think is so ridiculous, a self-destructive decision that they would not do it.”
Later in the show, Matthews played a clip of Obama speaking on the issue in 2012 as contrast. “Make no mistake, a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained,” Obama said at the time. Because of the threat to Israel and other nations in the region, the president said the U.S. “will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
Watch video below, via MSNBC:
[photo via screengrab]
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