What can the Saudis, the Qatars, and the rest do that the US couldn't? Iran can just decimate their oil and desalinization if they feel threatened enough. People don't seem to understand Iran hasn't done all that they could, they aren't clambering up the escalation ladder. As I stated, this situation is quite insoluble.
It isn't insoluble, The US and Israel haven't gone near full bore by any means, nah! Though there are a lot of innocent lives internally, that could/would suffer to get the religious whack jobs out of power. Insoluble though, no. The "solution" wouldn't be "politically pretty or correct"!
Well said!
I didn't make the assumption that Iran doesn't pose a genuine danger of actual use of a nuclear weapon. However they do not seem to be making an all out attempt to secure nuclear weapons because the laws of physics are the same everywhere and they have the technology and industrial base to build and test a fission device. Unless it was masked with the NK tests (a distinct possibility) however, they have not done so. And if they had been the real hand behind the NK successes then they still would not have many devices.
Israeli intelligence in that area is pretty reliable. They have their sources in Iran and they were convinced of the need to act. Large numbers of Iran's nuclear scientists were put out of action, so I imagine they have been set back at least for some time. For now that seems to be one plus to consider during the current uncertainties.
And why haven't they after 9 months? Again, Iran can destroy the gulf's oil and desalination infrastructure. 30% of the world's oil removed = societies collapsing. It's a simple equation. (actually more than 30%, because Iran's also would be gone)
Yes, sadly the chance to deal it internally then wasn't organized along the lines you mention. Trump seems to want to appear as nice guy, exhaust all the possibilities (US mid-terms), facing an enemy that doesn't care about appearances. The "real solution" is of course an internal one.
Yeah, there's that.
Israeli intelligence is being manipulated by Netanyahu and the Israeli fascists. In the past Netanyahu kept Likud and the coalition under control and rectified some of their extreme right tendencies. That has ended. With that, Netanyahu has betrayed his former military background as a defender of democracy and is just interested in the naked exercise of power, mostly for himself.
It would be a huge stretch to label Israel "fascist". They are one tiny democratic, secular country, roughly the size of Wales. They are surrounded by mostly hostile neighbours.
Agreed. It seemed to me the Iranian masses had no ability to fight a stealth war. They seemed to just stand in crowds and allow themselves to be shot down.
Israel as fascist is how some of the opposition to the current government within Israel is characterizing the country. Some of this opposition, as always, is from some of the Ultra-Orthodox. Some opponents of the current government in the US who are themselves Jewish (and often have an Orthodox or Ultra-Orthodox background) have also gone there. This is very difficult personally for me. But Israel has definitively and intentionally committed genocide in Gaza (and this is unfortunately not the first genocidal action it has undertaken but it is the first definitely to come from the office of the PM). This possibility was warned about for decades and has unfortunately come to pass and it came to pass at a time when democracy in the US is under attack from a US fascist Executive Branch with a Congress and Supreme Court in on an Executive Branch coup, thus dampening the criticism and possibly blockage from the US (while the US has historically supported Israel it has also at times blocked Israeli actions and from some Israeli perspectives acted to keep Israel from some potentially inhumane actions in past decades).
