We are already in a covert war. You cannot rush into battle.
Von Clauswitz would agree with me, but modern technology has made things a little diffrent
You are correct. The desire is not really to let sanctions work but to allow fruition of covert operations in process.
The covert operations are being carried out by special forces of the Gulf States directed by Americans probably located in Qatar.
There is a high probability that the public face is a charade and there are parallel IDF operations as well
That is all too true.
I support Israel for both secular and religious reasons. We can work with many of the Arab governments, but Iran simply must be stopped.
One of the few good things the Wikileaker did is show Iran that despite what was being said publicly, even the Arab leaders were privately pleading with President Obama to let Israel strike Iran. The Wikileaker may have delayed war by a few years, but the only way to stop this upcoming war is for Israel to take out Iran's nuclear capabilities or for Iran to change its government.
It would be better to see the second option than the first, but we're going to get the first if the government doesn't change.
My guess is that the Iranians have decided that they can't work with a President Gingrich, President Santorum, or even President Romney, and have decided to push for all they can get over the next year, knowing that just as with 1981 when the Iranians gave back the American hostages on Inauguration Day, the game is up if a Republican gets elected. I was at Reagan's inauguration that year, and for many years I kept a copy of the old Washington Star with its headline on freeing the hostages, and I remember the reactions of Republicans flooding the city for the Inauguration.
Basically, Reagan had won the American-Iranian War of 1981 without having to fire a single shot.
If shots have to be fired to stop the Iranians this time, I'd much rather see the Israelis doing the fighting than us.