September 18, 2007 (LPAC)--General John Abizaid (USA-ret.), who left his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Central Command and retired from the U.S. Army in Feb. 2007, over his opposition to the Bush Administration's "surge" policy in Iraq, has added his voice to the growing chorus of retired flag officers, opposing any military action against Iran.

In a speech Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Gen. Abizaid declared that the United States could live with an Iran that obtained a nuclear weapon. "I believe we have the power to deter Iran, should it become nuclear," he told the audience. "There are ways to live with a nuclear Iran." Gen. Abizaid continued, "I believe the United States, with our great military power, can contain Iran—that the United States can deliver clear messages to Iranians that make it clear to them that while they may develop one or two nuclear weapons, they'll never be able to compete with our true military might and power." In contrast, he warned that "War, in the state-to-state sense, in that part of the region would be devastating for everybody, and we should avoid it—in my view to every extent that we can. On the other hand," he warned, "we cannot allow the Iranians to continue to push in ways that are injurious to our interests."