The Drums of War: A Failure of Principled Policy

Fox has reported here that German opposition to further U.N. sanctions against Iran has led the U.S. to begin to develop attack plans against Iran's nuclear production facilities.

While some Democrats, and even Republicans like Congressman Ron Paul (R - Texas), may scream, it is clear that the World cannot allow the Iranian Theocracy to acquire nuclear weapons. In fact, given their long and inglorious history of supporting terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, it is dangerous for this regime to possess any type of radioactive material.

One cannot help but feel that feckless inaction {not} taken by the U.S.A. in the face of Iranian treachery over the last 30 years has lead to this point. I still believe that if the U.S. began responding to Iran in effective ways, that hostilities may be avoided. Note, this does not mean "diplomacy"... it means acting to increase tensions when the Iranians engage in provocative acts and acting to decrease tensions when the Iranians act in encouraging ways. It means sending clear and unmistakable signals of intent to the Iranians. Actions like increasing our military, forward deploying forces, capturing and detaining Iranian operatives, inspecting vessels bound for Iranian ports, etc. should all be on the table and under consideration whenever the Ayatollahs cross the line.

Regrettably, the current administration will likely deliver an ultimatum, then authorize weapons release. This may ultimately be necessary, but it is also a action that might produce an undesirable widening of the war in the middle east.