Joint Chiefs of Staff

The nation's top military officer said today that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a conflict with Iran would be "extremely stressing" but not impossible for U.S. forces, pointing specifically to reserve capabilities in the Navy and Air Force. "It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability," he said at a Pentagon news conference.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, speaking after meeting top military officials here on Saturday, said Pakistan faced an escalating terrorist threat that could affect the United States, but he also underscored the limitations of what Washington could do about it.

A top Pentagon official on Wednesday said the fate of Pakistan's military arsenal was a "primary concern" after President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in his country.

PENTAGON (AP) - The new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says he doesn't think the U.S. military is stretched too thin to take action against Iran, if that's what leaders decide to do.