Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhattanboy
I am 100% in support of a pre-emtive strike by Israel (as I was when they attacked reactor facilities in Iraq and Syria) but only if the Iranian program can be destroyed. Simply delaying their capability by a year or two serves no purpose. This has the potential to ignite wars on multiple fronts. It may the most difficult decision Israel has had to make since its creation.
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In principle I agree. Unfortunately, there are several extenuating circumstances that weren't in play with Iraq and Syria. The entire region is sitting in a delicate balance at the moment. The oppressive but consistent regimes in Egypt and Libya are no more. Syria is on the verge of governmental collapse. Under previous conditions Israel could attack Iran and neither Syria, Libya, Iraq, Saudi, Jordan nor Egypt would have done much about it rather than a little sabre-rattling. In fact, most of those nations leaders would be cheering very quietly in a secluded room somewhere. Now that Egypt and Libya no longer have a strong dictator at the helm, an Israeli pre-emptive strike could cause Muslims in the region to demand action against Israel. We've already seen large demonstrations against the US embassies in Libya and Egypt. An attack on Iran, despite being the best thing for the region, would likely inflame tensions and possibly see more Ayatollah's pop-up throughout the Middle-East.
I think the best thing that Israel can do at the moment is to continue their quiet assault on the Iranian nuclear infrastructure.