All Alone on Iran

The US case for a military strike on Iran has been forcibly undercut by the UK: Responding to comments by US politicians stressing the 'leverage' the military option allowed, Straw said such action was not under discussion. 'I understand that's the American position. Our position is different ... There isn't a military option. And no one is talking about it.'

Comments

[dan]

To be fair, Jack has been repeating this mantra for a few years now; the French and Germans say the same thing, though more discreetly, as Jack saying it carries far more weight in Washington. However, considering that there are plenty of people talking about military solutions, Jack seems to be shouting a lot louder these days in the hopes of getting the wardrummers to pipe down a bit.

There is only one country that sees a military solution to the problem, and that's Israel; unfortunately for the Israelis, their military solution is predicated on the US actually doing the military bit. Now there are plenty of Bush administration adherents that would like there to be a military solution to the "Iran problem", but most of them know that it won't be a solution, just a problem multiplier.

The one guaranteed effect of any US military strike against Iran is that it will settle the internal argument over weaponisation - it will be deemed a strategic necessity.