"Don't talk about 'do we bomb them (Iranians) now or later?" Brent Scowcroft, adviser to presidents Gerald R. Ford and George H. W. Bush, was quoted as saying.
By mentioning that threat, "we legitimize the use of force... and may tempt the Israelis" to carry out such a mission, Scowcroft said during a discussion on the negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Zbigniew Brezezinski, adviser to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, also described the Bush administration's policy of maintaining the option of military action as "counterproductive."
"I don't want the public to believe a preemptive attack can be justified," he said. Repeating the possibility "convinces Iran it is being threatened... and maybe it ought to have a (nuclear) weapon."
Brezezinski said that a U.S. attack on Iran would be a "disaster," suggesting it could result in the U.S. fighting "for at least two decades" on four fronts -- Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
