Is the US heading for war with Iran?

The Guardian ^ | November 2, 2011 | Ewen MacAskill and Harriet Sherwood

[Seizethecarp]

War with Iran is the last thing Barack Obama needs with the American economy in dire trouble and a tough White House election campaign looming next year, according to officials in Washington as well as political analysts.

But while the Obama administration is desperate to avoid another conflict – it would be America's fourth in a decade – the drumbeat from Israel has been growing louder.

The Israeli cabinet was reported on Wednesday to be debating whether to launch air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in the coming weeks. The prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the defence minister, Ehud Barak, are lobbying in favour of action, but other senior ministers are urging caution.

In response, Iran has warned, as it has in the past, that any attack by Israel would result in retaliation against the US. The Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran's military chief, as saying: "The Zionist regime's military attack against Iran will inflict heavy damages to the US as well as the Zionist regime."

The rhetoric from Tel Aviv and Tehran is making some within the Obama administration nervous.

A Washington official familiar with the issue acknowledged the temperature has been rising and that Israel introduced an unpredictable element. He reiterated, however, that the policy of the Obama administration was to pursue all diplomatic channels, backed by tougher sanctions, and avoid military action.

[JRandomFreeper]

Well, yes, we are. Sucks to be them.

/johnny

[Irenic]

But while the Obama administration is desperate to avoid another conflict
*************************

Oh my, I have a hard time believing that.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

By this time next week we could be at war—a grim and bloody war that will see bloodshed here in the streets of the USA. It will be the USA and UK vs. Iran, Syria, Pakistan, North Korea and Sudan. Maybe Egypt, Turkey and Iraq too. It has been a long time coming.

[HiTech RedNeck]

What, the Won who bows to Dinner Jacket would deal Iran anything more than a Very Stern Warning?

[JRandomFreeper]

I don't expect the sissy to throw (or authorize) the first punch. But I expect a punch to get thrown.

I just hope Pakistan and India come out on the other side without glassy craters.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

K. We've run this drill before, back in the '40s. Most of the world against us. How did that work out?

/johnny

[Blado]

A war with Iran would get Obama reelected.

[rhinohunter]

While taking up arms against a fundamentalist Islamist state would not normally be hussein’s inclination, he may see a major war as his only chance for reelection (or an excuse not to have an election).

[Windflier]

"The rhetoric from Tel Aviv and Tehran is making some within the Obama administration nervous."

I'll bet...

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

It would be a might big tail wagging.

[PGR88]

Will not happen with Obama as President.

[dsc]

Do little brown bears go poopy in the woods?

[saintgermaine]

I am not that astute when it comes to politics, but from an Iranian perspective I would surmise for them to think that there is no better time to start a war than now, when the other side has an imbecile for a president and when they could expect the least amount of repercussions.

And to top it of, it would come as no surprise to me if the current occupant of the white hut, with his defective logic and narcissistic traits is so bent on being re-elected so that he and his comrades can finish their job of destroying this country that starting a war would not be out of their realm.

[Boogieman]

If there is a conflict between Iran and Israel, I fully expect Obama to encourage maximum chaos through his Muslim Brotherhood proxies, and then try to foist UN/Nato/US intervention in Israel.

[ScubieNuc]

Don’t rule out anything and don’t underestimate your opponent. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Obama try to use the military in a way so as to say, “see, I’m big on protecting America.”

[arthurus]

A quick successful-seeming war is exactly what the kenyan needs to get re-elected. He thought he might have had thăt in his North African Wars but was not successful in taking credit for them because of his "leading from behind" mode which was a stealth method for Islamicizing the secular regimes of north Africa. By the time it will be relevant for his chances next November those new governments will all be viciously anti-American and no political benefit to the Democrats in the USA.

[arthurus]

What, the Won who bows to Dinner Jacket would deal Iran anything more than a Very Stern Warning?

I expect a major war before spring and Iran is the most likely target though China might precipitate something in SEA.The kenyan needs a War. His domestic policy is a generally perceived failure and he needs some foreign policy chops to have any respect at all..

[BlackVeil]

If Obama thinks war will get him re-elected, then yes we are.

I see the truth in what you are saying. Also, he seems to be Saudi Arabia's man in Washington, and Saudi politics also favors such a move.

But on the other hand, such a war seems too radical an action - I can't see them taking such a step.