historycircus

Some of the statements used in that article were taken out of context - such as the Powell quote. I was listening to Powell the morning he said that, and it was not a cryptic warning about a future attack. It was general statement about the president's ability to handle a crisis on the first day at work. What President of the 20th Century has not faced a major international crisis?

And a nuclear conflagration - such as Iran and Israel going at it - would make us all forget about 9/11 (keep in mind that the bombs we and our allies can drop now are much nastier than what fell on Japan). If I had to bet on what concerns world leaders the most in terms of international conflict, I would bet that it is the fear that Israel will act unilaterally against Iran.

My hope is that the incoming U.S. presidential administration will hold true to its promises and send an envoy to Iran with the quickness - talk is always cheaper and more moral than war, and I think Iran is willing - heck, has been willing - to sit down and have a productive discussion over the future of the Middle East. The U.S. needs Iran on board to successfully withdraw troops from Iraq anyway. And I would hope that our conditionless support of Israel stops - Iran and other nations have a valid concern about the growth of an unwelcome neighbor that claims democracy, really practices theocracy, and claims a divine right to sovereignty.