Obama would have to be truly insane

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Apr 10, 2015 at 19:35

Griete, Geert.

I agree with Daniel. The majority of Americans are sympathetic with Israel and unsympathetic with Iran; so any attack such as you mention would have to be pure chutzpah on Obama's part. Add to this, the fact that Obama has yet to make such a bold move even against weaker states, such as Syria and Libya, and is only limply slapping at ISIL; and you should have an idea of how he will (not) strike against a muscular air force such as the IAF.

In 1956, US President Eisenhower colluded with the Soviet Union, to bring pressure on the British, French and (at that time, rather weak) Israel to force Israel to withdraw from Sinai. Israel did so, only after guarantees of free shipping past Sharm el Sheikh, the (worthless) paper guarantee of free shipping through Suez and the demilitarization and interposition of international troops in Sinai. Even so, Israel took its time pulling out -- at a time when the US and Soviet Union combined had a virtual monopoly on power in the world. There were no airstrikes against Israel, nor any attempt to physically help the Egyptians.

If Mr. Obama did decide, in a fit of sheer insanity, to attack Israel, he wouldn't just get a bloody nose: He would get his face clearly burned off. The US has the potential to engage in a protracted war with anyone; but very little firepower ready-to-go and forward deployed; whereas Israel can be fully mobilized in a matter of hours to meet and defeat any enemy in the area -- including the US, as well as bigger enemies like the Turks, Russians and Iranians.

I'm not joking, when I don't even list the US as a major force in the Middle East. When Obama was making his "Red Line" threats to Syria in September, 2013, half our active carrier fleet was sitting at dock in Norfolk because we couldn't afford to crew the ships. We sent what helicopter carriers we could to the area, with one ship in the Mediterranean and the other in the Red Sea for fear that it might get hit; and even so, not only did the Russians have more marines on board their ships just off Syria, but even the Chinese outnumbered us! There was even a South Korean warship in the area of considerable capability, just visiting; but the bulk of American assets were far from any potential action.

The US could attack Israel itself; for instance, bombing Tel Aviv with B-2 bombers. That would be diplomatic suicide for the US, causing our own allies to turn on us. After such blatant treachery, the French and perhaps even the Brits would probably decide that it's better to be Obama's enemy than to be his friend; and the Russians would be glad to accomodate them. Also, Israel could surprize us with the range and payload capacity of its Jericho ICBMs. If just one Israeli nuke landed on the US, Obama and his ilk would be eaten up in a feeding frenzy by their enemies.

As I said, I think it would be unlikely for the US to try to stop Israel from attacking Iran.

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