United States Armed Forces could win simultaneous conflicts in the Korean peninsula and against Iran, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told American soldiers in Germany today, despite the impending force reductions.

“We could be fighting a land war in Korea, and suddenly Iran moves to close the Straits of Hormuz,” Panetta said, discussing a hypothetical scenario, during a visit to soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center today. “We’ve got to have the capability to be able to confront each adversary, to not only deter them, but defeat them.  And we can do that with the force that we’ve put in place.”

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