[That would be the problem. If Iran declares the waters of the Gulf to be a "war Zone" then all bets are off for insurers of commercial shipping. A de facto barricade as effective as a physical one.]
With all due respect, this sounds like a DU posting. If Iran declared anywhere a war zone, it would give us the excuse we need to end their regime. One has to assume that Rummy has the entire war plan ready for "contingencies" like that. I don't think we are in a position where we don't want a conflict. If we could even stage one credibly, I think we would. Insurance companies would not have too much time to deny coverage to commercial shipping if Iran declared anywhere a war zone and then quickly lost all their silkworms and the eastern shores of the Persian gulf and oil producing regions to a northern alliance style of Iranian exiles dropped courtesy of the US Navy and Air Force.
Last week there were several discussions on Iran and its capabilities. One freeper thought Iran would make the first move knowing that war was inevitable and block the Persian Gulf by taking out several huge oil tankers and mining the area thus block the shipping lanes cutting off the oil supply causing a world economic crisis.
If you know war is coming do you wait and let others win all the battles or do you cause as much damage as possible in hopes that others rise up and come to your aid (possible exciting other islamic countries to help because of your "victory" or perhaps one of those who will be desperately harmed by the loss of oil might be desperate enough to come to your aid)?
With all due respect, you sound like you've gotten your view about conducting military operations in the Arabian Gulf from Hollywood.
I speak as someone who sat many a watch in CENTCOM during the 1980's while the world's oil tankers were steaming slowly through the Gulf under US military escort.... someone who remembers the result of Libya dropping a few mines in the Suez canal...and someone who was involved in DESERT STORM planning, execution, and BDA. Up close and personal.
I have "kinda" been through the pol-mil side and the military operations side .... of Gulf war. Your statements are laughable.
But you could write a good episode of "The West Wing" and let Hollywood defeat the conniving right wing Iranian fundamentalists in a one hour episode. So hurry.
"DU". Indeed.