I read an analyst who put the best possible motives on the Obama administration. He said Obama was trying to create a tension in the Middle East between Iran and Saudi Arabia that would keep them in a cold war where neither had an advantage over the other, thus...peace.
The problem with every liberal dream is they never play it forward to what comes next. They are focused on the (flawed) view they have now and thinking that the situation is static and if they just tweak this or poke that everything will then be wonderful. Assuming Obama had pure motives, which I doubt, he didn’t take into account that Iran is a hostage taking culture. Nuclear weapons makes the whole world Iran’s hostage. The world would give in on small things, but those demands would not stay small. The cost of correcting Obama’s error, assuming it wasn’t on purpose, would potentially be millions of lives and huge swaths of poisoned earth.
Another issue is, Saudi Arabia, if it isn’t already, can become nuclear in a short time by getting them from Pakistan. You think Pakistan won’t sell nukes? Pakistan is so dysfunctional, the only reason it still exists as a state is the neighbors and America are pretending it is. Pakistan is always a few explosions and assassinations away from anarchy. Nuclear armed anarchy.
Then there’s the Saudi government. The present regent is the closest thing to a reformer Saudi Arabia has ever had. His name on the door was printed in chalk with a damp sponge hung nearby. Islam is designed not to be reformed...and he’s trying within the limits of his position. What happens when a country that already depends on the outside world for 90% of its food suddenly falls into chaos and civil war? Uhm...because of Obama, now they’d fight a nuclear armed civil war. I’m sure someone out there in FR land would respond, well, good.
Setting off nuclear weapons in an area supplying the bulk of much of the world’s oil will cause starvation on an unbelievable scale. It would be much better if the problems could be, if not solved, contained. That means not tipping the first domino...Nuclear Iran.