US Pentagon Officials Resisting Attack on Iran

In the name of ALLAH, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

US Pentagon Officials Resisting Attack on Iran

Washington – After the painful experience of Iraq and Afghanistan, where America occupied both countries and fought for nearly 19 years, resulting in the deaths of approximately 7,000 American soldiers, the wounding and maiming of 52,000, and the cost estimated at $7 trillion, in addition to the killing and wounding of more than one million Iraqis and Afghans, a nationalist isolationist movement emerged from within the Republican Party, opposing neoconservative military orientations and demanding restraint in American involvement in the Middle East.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern Affairs Michael DiMino are among the most prominent figures and symbols of this movement currently in the Pentagon.

The appointment of these two officials, who openly represent the MAGA movement, to US President Donald Trump's foreign policy team was disappointing to Israel's supporters and lobbyists, especially after the failure of pressure to dissuade Trump from nominating them to their positions, which were approved by a majority of the Senate.

The Influence of the Two Men

Amid the Republican divide between an isolationist faction that fears that Washington's intervention against Iran could drag America into a new war in the region, and another "hawkish" faction that supports military action against Iran and sees it as necessary to deter the Iranian nuclear threat, the two officials play a major role in supporting the isolationist faction and obstructing efforts to pressure Trump to join Israel in its attacks on Iran.

Rejection of Attacking Iran

In a radio interview in February 2024, Dimino said, "People who are trying to tell you that Iran will somehow take over the Middle East are inciting fear, and I think it's a joke that is not supported by the facts."

After Iran's second ballistic missile attack on Israel last October, he refused to condemn the attack as a "fairly moderate" response to Israeli operations against Tehran and its proxy groups, and suggested that Iran was backing down.

Dimino publicly opposed attacking Iran's nuclear program, suggesting that an Israeli attack might prompt Iran to exercise "restraint."

Elsewhere, he praised former President Joe Biden for pressuring Israel not to attack nuclear sites in April 2024, and repeatedly warned that Israeli attacks on Iran and its proxies endangered US forces in the region, urging Iranian-backed retaliation against US bases.

Although some commentators view Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as more hawkish on Iran, officials like Dimino and Colby provide information and present options to Hegseth and will play a key role in setting policy.

By virtue of their positions, the officials will wield tremendous influence, communicating with regional capitals and controlling resources, preparations, and options. This has led some supporters of Israel to claim that "they have a tremendous amount of power that they exercise in hidden ways. This foreign policy is the same as Barack Obama's foreign policy in the Middle East."

Colby and His Vision

In his position, Colby is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on defense and foreign policy matters. His duties include leading the development of the National Defense Strategy and overseeing its implementation. He is also responsible for a number of related strategies and reviews, focusing on joint force planning, posture, and management. Colby also represents the Department of Defense in discussions between various U.S. agencies and foreign governments.

Colby opposes direct U.S. military action against Iran, arguing that containing a nuclear Iran is "a sensible and eminently feasible goal."

Prior to taking his position, Colby was a co-founder of the Marathon Initiative, a think tank focused on preparing America for an era of ongoing great power competition. Meanwhile, Colby has been a leading voice for a more pragmatic and rational approach to U.S. foreign and defense policy.

During the first Trump administration, Colby served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development from 2017 to 2018.

In his position, he led the development and publication of the administration's 2018 National Defense Strategy, which reoriented the department to prioritize the threat posed by China's historic military buildup and emphasized the urgent need for greater burden-sharing among allies.

Elbridge Colby opposes America entering wars to defend others, even Israel (Getty)

Colby supports reducing the US military presence in the Middle East, a region he describes as "relatively unimportant" from a geopolitical perspective, and withdrawing US forces from the Persian Gulf, arguing that America can more effectively counter Iran by "enhancing the military capabilities of its partners in the region."

Before the October 7, 2023, attacks, Colby called for a "reset" in America's relationship with Israel, saying that America should leave Israel more self-reliant to meet its security challenges. He said that while Washington should be prepared to provide Israel with material and political support, it must assure it that it "cannot afford to get involved in another war in the Middle East and will only play a supporting role."

Dimino and the Middle East

Michael Dimino serves as the Department of Defense's principal policy advisor on all defense and security issues related to the Middle East, with responsibility for more than a dozen countries, including Israel and Iran.

Previously, Dimino served as a military analyst at the CIA, a Defense Department official during the first Trump administration, and a research fellow at Defense Priorities, a nationalist-isolationist think tank funded by the prominent Republican Koch family.

Throughout his career, Dimino has focused on the need for burden-sharing in the context of regional security cooperation, enabling allies to achieve their security objectives by augmenting their local capabilities.

He has published studies on prioritizing core U.S. national security interests, defending the homeland, deterring China, and revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base.

Dimino has also worked to develop policies and scenarios to neutralize the threats posed by Iranian-backed militia groups to U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East.

Dimino believes that America has "little or no" vital interests in the region. He called for reducing the American presence in the Middle East and argued that America has no vital interests in the region.

He declared that the Middle East is not, in fact, a region of vital importance to his country's interests, arguing that America can prevent terrorist threats emanating from the region without a significant military presence, and that instead, its goals can be achieved through diplomacy.

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