Bill O’Reilly proposed Tuesday a bold tactic against the Iranian regime to stop its hopes of procuring a nuclear weapon.
O’Reilly, in a dialogue with retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a Fox News strategic analyst, suggested implementing a blockade just as former President John F. Kennedy did against the Cubans in 1962 to prevent them from fulfilling nuclear ambitions.
“Now, here is what I would do, colonel,” O’Reilly said. “I would draw up plans for a blockade, naval blockade of Iran and I would make those plans public. And I would say to the world, if they don’t let the UN inspectors in at a certain time, in whatever time it may be, you don’t make public, but you say a certain time. U.S. and NATO allies, coalition of the willing, if you will, we’re going to block nothing in and nothing out. That’s what we’re going to do.”
“And if you challenge the blockade, we’ll do what we have to do,” O’Reilly continued. “This is like the Cuban missile crisis. It’s the same, same thing. Not going to do it. Not going to let your nukes in Cuba. Kennedy did that. Not going to let your nukes in Iran. Bang — that’s what we’re going to do. So you better stop now and not force us to do it, because if you force us to do it, you know, we’re going to do it and then it’s going to be really, really bad for you, because we’re not going to pull it right out. What’s wrong with that, colonel?”
But Peters objected on geographical grounds and that it would lure the United States into a confrontation with not only Iran, but Russia and China as well.
Exchange as follows:
PETERS: Iran is not Cuba. It is not an island. Most of its weaponry and black market supplies come from Russia.
O’REILLY: Yeah, but you starve there. You starve them. Russia can’t feed them.
PETERS: Starve them? Actually Russia can, but also if you do a blockade, Bill, suddenly you’re in it with China, too.
O’REILLY: You’re in it with China, absolutely.
PETERS: You either whack Iran if necessary, or you do a blockade and then in it with Iran, Russia and China.
O’REILLY: You’re going to be in it with Russia and China anyway because they’re not going to go along with an attack.
PETERS: Are we going to stop Chinese ships at sea by force?
O’REILLY: We have to.
Peters concluded by maintaining his disagreement and saying the best bet for defeating the Iranian threat would be a Romney administration that would back Israel.
“I rarely disagree with you, but on this I got to,” Peters added. “And the bottom line for me is this, with what Romney is preferable because as you said, he will back Israel. Obama’s dislike for Israel is just visceral.”