‘Five US generals will quit if President George Bush orders Iran attack’

LONDON: At least five senior US military commanders will quit if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, defence and intelligence sources here said. Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before US President George W Bush leaves office.

The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack. “There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said.

“There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

According to the report, a British defence source has said that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them. There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgement too far for there to be resignations,” the source said.

A generals’ revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented, it said. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has repeatedly warned against striking Iran and is believed to represent the view of his senior commanders.