The Big Secret

[kpete]

James Fallows:

Israel doesn't have the military capacity to "stop" Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and neither does the United States, at least not in circumstances short of total war.

Why does this matter? As a question of negotiation, I think it's fine for U.S. officials from the president on down to act as if they might seriously be considering a military strike. George W. Bush and Barack Obama alike have consistently said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Iran, and that's fine too. It can be shrewd to keep an opponent guessing about what you might do if provoked.

This negotiating stance could be useful, as long as it doesn't spill over from fooling the Iranians to fooling ourselves. (A la, "we'll be greeted as liberators!&quot Letting Iran's leaders think the U.S. is contemplating a strike might pay off. Actually contemplating it could be disastrous.



http://m.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/please-read-jeffrey-goldbergs-netanyahu-analysisand-this-other-one-too/384888/