At The Brink?
My friend Rick at The Real Ugly American has a thoughtful post up that raises troubling questions. Is World War Three coming? Is it coming no matter what we do because others, not fully sane, will force it on us? Lord knows I have a much higher personal stake in what is going on in the Middle East than most pundits commenting these days (a point Rick made when he emailed me the link to this post of his).
If Iran chooses to enter this war, and their president has been nothing but bellicose since his pseudo election, the US will certainly be drawn into it as well. An Israeli attack on Damascus would be seen by Achmadinawhackjob as a perfect moment to walk the walk.
As with all power mad, and delusional tyrants he has far more bravado than brains. Carelessly starting a world war is exactly what his kind are prone to. He would view the death of millions of Iranians as a glorious and noble moment in history, not the horrific and needless waste of life that it will be.
I am not arguing against US involvement. We must certainly support our ally Israel when and if they call for help. My only question is the timing. Do we want this war now?
Are we ready for this war now?
I fear too many Americans are not. A greater war in the middle east would undoubtedly be blamed on George Bush by the world and by many on the left here at home. The naked provocations of Hamas and Hezbollah, and the Iranian theocracy all but forgotten.
I rather suspect that Iran will provoke others to act and will fight to the last drop of their proxies blood* before they try to come into anything directly. But the world must wake up, here. This is not America's fight alone. It is civilization's fight. As TRUA's update mentions, Rick Moran sees a slow-motion explosion. I think it's more like a slow motion train crash, but that's a matter of semantics, and I'm not sure that either expression really captures what is happening. I think there is still time, but we have got to pull together.
* Paraphrasing Omar at Iraq the Model.
UPDATE: A Blog For All has an extensive roundup including reaction from Lebanese bloggers (they blame Hezbollah). The last update in the post is the most frightening. There are reports that Hezbollah is trying to take the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers to Iran. If that happens, all bets are off.
Other Links to this Post
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A Blog For All — Thursday, 13 July , 2006 @ 6:35 pm
By Fersboo, Thursday, 13 July , 2006 @ 9:55 am
An off the cuff comment, but I would hazard a guess that the 100k US troops sitting in Iraq would suffice to have Iran sit on its heels while its proxies carry out its bid to eradicate Israel. I am of the mindset that as long as the US remains at Israel’s side and does not limit their reaction/reach, Israel could most readily defend herself from her immediate neighbors/attackers. However, Europe, being Europe, and the American left would do their best to limit US involvement.
When I was stationed on the Czech border during the waning days of the Cold War, one tactic we used (we trained to use, in my case) to circumvent the restrictions placed upon us by the commie-lovers was to postion ourselves between those that had escaped from across the border and the Czech border guards. The purpose was to have justification to return fire if the border guards continued to shoot at the escapees, since they would be technically firing at US personnel also.
Just a quick commment. BTW, I’ve been visiting for about a month or so. I like the site, but being from the Chesapeake region and my fondness for Blue Crab (steamed, not boiled, with plenty of Old Bay) my prejudice me a bit.
By Gaius, Thursday, 13 July , 2006 @ 9:59 am
The site name has caused many hunger attacks! Thanks for the comment, I agree that unless someone chcks them, they can handle it. Hamas will find that out to their dismay, I suspect.
By Roland Hesz, Friday, 14 July , 2006 @ 2:37 am
Will anyone ever be ready for that war?
Really ready?
I frankly doubt it.
/yeah, call me a coward, but I don’t want to go to shoot and be shot./
By Roland Hesz, Friday, 14 July , 2006 @ 2:40 am
Real shooting after escapees were rare indeed.
Even noticing them, if it could be avoided - i.e. no Soviet officer in the vicinity.