CNN’s Marks: Iran’s ‘Economics Are Fine’ Thanks to Oil Sales, We’re on ‘Back Heels’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” CNN Military Analyst Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks (Ret.) argued that “we are very reactive” to the situation in the Middle East and “The initiative entirely belongs to Iran. We have to get off our back heels.” He also said that Iran’s “economics are fine” because they keep pumping and selling oil.

Marks stated, “I would not recommend a strike into Iran. But, also, bear in mind, we are very reactive here. The initiative entirely belongs to Iran. We have to get off our back heels. So, how do you do that? Well, we talk about deterrence. Deterrence is a strategic condition, a priori, that establishes levels of behavior and forms of behavior that are accepted. And when you get beyond those forms, those described boundaries, if you will, then something is going to happen, there will be some punishment, and there will be some pain. … And in this particular case, there must be an incredibly punishing blow. And we have an array of options. There are things that we can do in the Gulf. Right now, Iran is pumping about 3.2 million barrels of oil a day. Their economics are fine. They’re selling that to China. They’re selling that to India. We can try to shut that down. We can make it that much more painful for them. So, all of government needs to be engaged, and I would expect to see this.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett