My guess is that it is an either/or. As hamered as the White House has been on Iraq, for W to order a strike against Iran which would result in a major expansion of fighting in the region is hard to conceive. However, an Israeli govt official recently said that the US had given them the green light to strike. Iran has made it clear that it will respond to an attack an the two carriers will have their hands full. If Syria strikes, that could provide enough excuse for W to strike them in conjunction with Israel. Either case could have things escalating to biblical proportions quickly.
IF the Israelis pull the trigger on Iran and Syria first what is the liklihood in your estimation of that conflict widening substantially and do you think that any such conflict may increase terror potentials here on home soil?
Iran, Syria, Hezzbollah and Hamas would almost immediately pull the trigger. I think Iran has been prepping them for such action since last summer. As far as terror here, I'm not sure. I would expect a significant rise in SJS (sudden jihad syndrome), but the major attacks, as we've seen, they've taken a lot of time in planning and work to pull off. A rapid response could potentially blow their cover as well as security level here would likely jump off the meter (journalists almost seem to be wetting their pants under the current threats), which would disrupt any ongoing plans. Unless they have the vans loaded with fertilizer bombs ready to drive into malls, hospitals, etc (which they've threatened), they would be delayed as they reassess our security. If we are kicking tail and taking names as a result of an Iranian attack, they will be doubly motivated and I'm sure they'll go after it as soon as they feel the initial wave of security and alertness is over.