Comments on: Iran: Timing the Military Option http://blog.z-word.com/2008/08/iran-timing-the-military-option/ Commentary about Zionism, anti-Zionism, antisemitism and the conflict in the Middle East Thu, 17 May 2012 14:06:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5-RC1.1 By: Eamonn McDonagh http://blog.z-word.com/2008/08/iran-timing-the-military-option/#comment-904 Eamonn McDonagh Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:25:11 +0000 http://blog.z-word.com/?p=196#comment-904 "U.S. opposition to an Israeli military strike now is based on four factors, the official said. First, a strike would retard the Iranian nuclear program without destroying it. (One intelligence estimate is that an attack would delay the Iranians by just two months to two years.)" This argument doesn't make much sense. Even if the US itself decided to attack Iran and spent weeks bombing all its military/industrial facilities down to the last village forge it still couldn't be sure that it had destroyed Iran's nuclear program in its entirety. The only way to do that would be to conquer Iran, something that is not going to happen, and even then you would have to leave eventually and they could start again. So delaying is the only game in town. The key issue is how long for. “U.S. opposition to an Israeli military strike now is based on four factors, the official said. First, a strike would retard the Iranian nuclear program without destroying it. (One intelligence estimate is that an attack would delay the Iranians by just two months to two years.)”

This argument doesn’t make much sense. Even if the US itself decided to attack Iran and spent weeks bombing all its military/industrial facilities down to the last village forge it still couldn’t be sure that it had destroyed Iran’s nuclear program in its entirety. The only way to do that would be to conquer Iran, something that is not going to happen, and even then you would have to leave eventually and they could start again.

So delaying is the only game in town. The key issue is how long for.

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