Realism
Friday, September 28, 2007Abizaid: World Could Abide Nuclear Iran
Assuming Iran actually is trying to get nuclear weapons, which is still an assumption, I agree particularly with his note about Iran not being suicidal. The Iranians also know that slipping a weapon to Hizballah would be so easily traced that they might as well just openly launch a missile, so the terrorist route is equally unlikely. (Al-Qaeda would do better to approach North Korea than Iran about such a deal. On the whole, I think mullah-run Iran has behaved a lot more rationally than the Kims.) Mostly, I agree that the cost of another war is higher than the alternative, so it’s ultimately a cost-benefit analysis.
I think that if every Army general retired and went into politics at the same time, the U.S. would certainly have a more calculated approach to world affairs. I know soldiers can’t speak their mind publicly about policy while in uniform, but I desperately hope they voice the same reasoned opinions to their civilian commanders that they do in public after retirement.
It’s also interesting that only a military guy could make such a calculation without being excoriated as a coward with his head in the sand.
I generally (!) agree with the Abizaid take. And yours, Eisenhower wasn’t too bad.
Iran is making headway to fill the power void that getting rid of Saddam made. And they are doing a good job of it. Those Persians are also credited with inventing the game of chess, which shows cause it seems like they are a step ahead of our guys. Either way, Iran is going to come out better off because of this administration, even if its in cred only.