DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./IRAN: DIPLOMACY (WITH IRAN) IS "THE RIGHT PATH" ACCORDING TO NOMINEE FOR CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF

Joint Chiefs pick worried about Iran

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The Navy admiral tapped to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday he favors a diplomatic approach in dealing with Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, yet he offered few clues on how he would handle the war in Iraq.

Adm. Michael Mullen accused Iran, without being more specific, of giving aid to insurgent forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still he called diplomacy "the right path."

"I'm concerned about what Iran's doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, you know, broadly providing capability to which we are losing American soldiers on the ground and Marines on the ground, and I consider that not to be acceptable," he said.

The Navy must stay in the Persian Gulf to reassure allies and maintain its ability to act quickly in a crisis, he said.

"I think we will be there with a strong presence for a long time," he said, during a question-and-answer session at the Naval War College in Newport.



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