Iranian Force Majeur Influencing an American Response

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Dec 21, 2011 at 13:45

The year 2012 opens with a surprise, politics as usual. But what exactly does the prognostication that Dr. Pipes is expounding upon actually portend for America, if indeed anyone can pull that rabbit out of the hat.

American politics is being badgered worldwide; from discussing the effects of holding on to the dollar and the economics of the markets in a free-for-all mentality-getting while the getting is still viable; to whether or not America can remain in a full scale reduction of military activities and lose all that corporate profit from arms making. But the treasury coffers have been raided-who's going to pay for the next conflagration?

While it may be argued that previous American administrations are to blame for some of the run ups to the issues facing America, it is the current Administrative Chief Executive that seems bent on making sure that the conservative values that once held check on the more venturous politics cannot do so and win. Where does that leave America in 2012?

Some might say that's a hard one to answer; and potentially that might be true-but it's not.

America is in the crosshairs. Being targeted for a long time for various reasons of envy, opposing ambitions, jealousy and just plain downright hatred, America represents for a greater part of the world's population everything that cannot be understood about America because too few understood/understand why America was allowed to form in the first place. By nominal theoretical world politics, the United States of America does not make sense. After all, in any nominal oligarchy, where does freedom and liberty have any place in governing a people?

Iran does represent a threat to America, a situation that has festered since the fall of the Shah. But the Islamic revolution in Iran is only a tip of the iceberg and does not represent the full threat to America.

First, the greater threat to America comes from nowhere else but within. The true strength of America was a resolve now apparently forgotten, that which united the people. This is now apparently a thing of the past as Al Gore so dramatically pronounced during his campaign.

The schisms of America's politics have been around; there's no new news there. But in this day and age of airing the dirty laundry of politics in real time globally, there is nothing to hide that cannot be found on facebook/twitter/wikileaks/etal, minutes after it is revealed. The rest of the world sees this and says, "aha(!)": what makes America so haughty to think they can solve the problems of the world when they cannot get their own house in order? It is an exposure of weaknesses that cannot be solved by any amount of military budgeting.

Second, the threats from elsewhere are many and they can be daunting if one merely sits and begin counting Iran and other elements of the Islamic revolution desiring a shot at America. But what of other potential threats: China, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan if the predominant Islamists gain full control, etc.

But here is the paradox: in rhetoric just before gaining the Chief Executive's office and subsequent to that event, the current administration began a campaign under its slogan of 'change' by which there is a subliminal pattern of the Chief Executive's actions not matching his rhetoric. The process of that remains to be seen and will work itself out when the time for real action approaches.

Israel, the U.S.'s only real ally in the Middle East is caught in the middle of the vacillation now perceived coming by the current American administration's mixed signals, suggesting that a tacit invitation to perpetrate action against the Israeli's is in the works. Being targeted specifically by Iran, one cannot help but wonder why Israel has yet to take the necessary actions they have before; except that they are probably unsure of the United States' willingness to support any such action. If Israel acts and the U. S. does not, then all the provocation as Biblically required for WWIII would be in place.

Will Iran be the precipitating agent? To be sure, they will be a part; all that effort on their part so far is not for nothing. How does it help the American position politically? Only the current American Chief Executive can answer that: the question being, do we really want him to?

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