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CAP Commentator: Any Talk of Action Against Iran ‘Tremendously Premature’

February 6, 2012

Speaking to Tamran Hall on MSNBC on Monday, the Center for American Progress’ Brian Katulis said the U.S. should not talk about any possible military action against Iran, lest gas prices spike and the country rush into another "irrational" war in the Middle East.

HALL: The Washington post had its report that Israel could strike Iran, maybe by spring and today the president signed this executive order tightening sanctions on Iran.  That does not end the debate that Israel feels it has met the criteria for its attack, we see it’s a line of process that the white house and the state department is really trying to push tougher sanctions here.

KATULIS: I think this administration has done an excellent job in isolating Iran from the international community.  When you compare it to five years ago, when we had a policy of passive appeasement of Iran by the Bush Administration and it moved forward without any international sanctions.  I think the Obama Administration has done a great job here. I think any call for military action at this point is tremendously premature. If we want to have eight dollars a gallon of gas and we want to irrationally rush into another Middle Eastern war, then let’s talk about war with Iran this month. I think that would be unfortunate because there is time to deal with the nuclear program, and I think the Obama Administration is taking the right steps to deal with it.