"Where are we going to get the money? America is basically broke. How bout the troops? They are in Iraq. Not trying to be a pessimist but these are legitimate questions."
We'll get the money the same way we got it during other wars, we just print it. The Fed has been doing this for years anyway.
Your points are valid though and I think that it will be primarily a standoff war that obliterates Iran's Rev.Gaurd and nuke facilities as a priority and secondly (if they persist) their military.
Honestly, if they do something stupid like go into Iraq all bets are off and we could see the first declared war and draft since way back. I think the West is capable of appeasement, but now the Iranians have back themselves and the Brits into a corner. I wouldn't say it's inevitable but it is getting more probable now.
We also don't have the manpower. A military draft seems requisite at this point, but of course the Democratic Congress will never allow that with 2008 around the corner. We could certainly do a lot of damage from the air, but without regime change, it's a mere Band-Aid. This is the crux of the problem. We can't risk another series of drawn out urban battles while we're still in Iraq. It would absolutely require a military draft.
At the end of the day, maybe Ahmadinejad is smarter than we give him credit. He must realize that we are essentially paralyzed from taking any action that would involve regime change.
You know, the more I think about it, in a sick way, maybe leaving Iraq is our only choice. The brick-crapping that will go on in the capitals of Europe as they contemplate Iranian hegemony on their doorstep may finally drive the point home that at the end of the day, Europe is a much closer target than the U.S., so start sending troops or prepare to fight them on the Continent. At this point - and I can't believe I'm saying this - but we're taking all the casualties, our own Congress makes a meaningful war with Iran a near-impossibility, and we're being told everything is our fault. Fine. Let's leave. Let Spain contemplate the rebirth of Andalusia at the end of a medium-range missile launched from Iranian controlled Baghdad. Let them contemplate daily Islamic rioting in Paris and London and Berlin. The Riviera can become the new Gaza Strip. Let them contemplate their complicity in the nuclear destruction of Jerusalem, (God forbid) the sacking of the Vatican, and the end of all that made Western Civilization great. This is what they want. Maybe when they're busy everyday cleaning up broken glass and dismembered bodies on the Champs-Elysees, they'll realize who the enemy is. Clearly, CLEARLY none of these countries (except for Britain and Australia) would ever come to our aid if the situation were reversed.
Sorry for the rant. We cannot let these people win. But it will require massive additional ground forces. Ahmadinejad is playing this perfectly, so far and calling him a nutjob just doesn't seem to be accurate at this point. The nutjobs are in Congress and hanging out with Hugo Chavez. Ahmadinejad could be on the verge of making his country a regional superpower. Congress is on the verge of castrating our own country. Who looks stupid, now?