Visitors Now: | |
Total Visits: | |
Total Stories: |
Story Views | |
Now: | |
Last Hour: | |
Last 24 Hours: | |
Total: |
By Juan Cole
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged at the United Nations on Tuesday to attack Iran himself if Washington won’t do it, and in order to stop what he characterized as an Iranian nuclear weapons program:
Click here to view the embedded video.
But the fact is that a solo Israel-on-Iran military attack would not remain solo. If Israeli jets managed to reach all the way to Natanz near Isfahan and Fordow near Qom (it is a long way), they would provoke a regional conflagration.
Pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq would be in a position to launch mortar and other attacks on the dwindling employees at the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone. There are no longer any substantial number of US troops to protect them, and the security of embassies is considered the host country’s responsibility. That is, US personnel in Iraq are being protected by the Iraq army, which so far hasn’t shown itself good at counter-terrorism.
Likewise, US military installations in Kuwait and Qatar are not immune from retaliation. The US navy base in Manama, Bahrain, is on an island with a 60% Shiite majority, which already feels frustrated by repression by the Sunni monarchy.
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat
http://philosophers-stone.co.uk