Top General Warns Iran Not to Underestimate US Military

Wow! This is pretty candid for the Commander of Central Command. Iran is really coming to the front in every possible way.

"We can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on Earth, and everybody knows it," Abizaid said. "If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power that can match the United States militarily."

When we read this, we think something like, "Yes. That's true. We have the strongest military in the world." But . . . is there a message being sent here? If a Chinese general made a statement like this, would the US interpret it as an allusion to a first-strike? Will the Iranians interpret it in the same way? (From the above mentioned article, scrolling down past the Kerry bit:)

Of course, the official PRC outlet failed to mention the fact that General Xiong Guankai, deputy chief of staff for PLA intelligence and second in command of all PLA forces threatened the U.S. with nuclear war. "He wanted to turn Los Angles into radioactive glass," stated William Triplett, author of "Year of the Rat" and defense analyst. "He threatened the United States with nuclear weapons. He is not a nice guy." The official PRC statement also neglected to quote Document 1999 65 from the PLA Office of the Central Military Commission. The document noted that the Chinese government is prepared to fight a nuclear war with the U.S. and has sent official messages to back up its threat.

Gen. Abizaid's statement is not quite as blunt, but still could be interpreted in a variety of ways. You rarely hear a US general -- much less a field commander -- openly discussing our own nuclear capabilities. Interesting things afoot . . .