Well, boys and girls, I want you to understand that I am not predicting that Israel or anybody else is about to make a military strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities. My purpose here is to point out that a number of public comments combined with the seeming acceleration of their number, can sometimes be an accurate indicator of military action.As have I pointed out before, something happened not long ago which surprised many of us. The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States said publicly that his country was willing to live with the consequences of a strike against Iran despite the enormous amount of trade between the two countries and the likelihood of riots after a strike.
The next really clear indication that serious planning may be underway to strike at Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons sites came recently when British news outlets reported that Saudi Arabia had given Israel permission to cross its airspace en route to Iranian targets. This little piece of news also caught many in the West by surprise.
Now, we have Sen. Joe Lieberman in Israel saying the U.S. would influence Iran, “through diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions if we can, but through military action if we must.”
The good Senator may be one of Israel’s biggest supporters on Capitol Hill, but he is not commander in chief, so his comments need to be taken with a grain of salt, but they also are a clear indicator that Israeli officials believe a strike is necessary.
When the McChrystal fracas broke out, several senior retired and current military officers worried quietly that moving leaders at Central Command at such a sensitive time in Israeli-Iranian relations could leave the U.S. unfocused on a likely Israeli threat. The selection and rapid confirmation of Gen. David Petraeus alleviated some of those concerns but CentCom remains without a leader who has undergone Senate confirmation. While that may seem academic to many, Senate confirmation confers great credibility on a military leader and grants them wider discretion than an acting commander possesses, both in their own minds and in those of Congress and the executive branch. This slightly confused situation means that the U.S. may not have as complete a grasp on, nor a focus on, Israeli intentions in the immediate future as we would like. The Israelis have shown us time and time again that they are ready, willing and able to surprise the world, and us, by taking unilateral action with little or no notice to protect their interests.
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Learn Some Zydeco and Have Fun
OK, it is time to get away from politics and solving all the world's problems. Even us super heroes need a day off once in a while.....(lol). Anyway, I had a friend asking me about one of my favorite escape destinations, New Orleans. Some of the things I love there are the food (Cajun and Creole cooking), the music (jazz to soul to country to Irish to blues and everything along the way) and the party atmosphere (their slogan, Laissez les bons temps rouler, means 'let the good times roll'). It does not hurt that the bars are open 24 hours a day in the French Quarter as well.... Anyway, I ran across these clips on You Tube teaching the art of dancing to Zydeco music and thought y'all might enjoy it, "cher... I garontee..."
And if that wasn't enough:
2 comments:
I think it will happen, quite possibly this year. The only way it will not happen is if the Obama adminstration surprises us all with a dramatic opening to Iran Nixon/China style that involves a deal where Iran gives up its nuclear programme completely in exchange for full US recognition of the regime.
It is an extremely tough call for the President. A nuclear Iran is unacceptable but attacking them could lead to a much wider war in which all American gains in Iraq and Afghanistan are reversed. You are however correct, the indications are that it will happen sooner rather than later.
Ted,
This is one of those things that really does keep me awake at night.
There is just no good outcome I can see.
The only constant is the acknowledgment by everyone that Israel can not accept a nuclear armed Iran.
I used to believe the United States would never accept that either, but I have come to the conclusion that Obama is far too naive and ready to forget the past lessons of appeasement.
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