Vacuum
Vacuum. I love that word, because I can never spell it correctly. It’s always a challenge. I remember there are two same letters, but then I think maybe there are two pairs of same letters.
Apparently the Obama Administration has a similar problem with the word ’sanctions’. Not in spelling the word, but in figuring out what should go into it at the United Nations discussions with the other veto nations.
Instead of the crippling terms promised Israel to keep them from striking Iran, now there are vague references to ’strengthened vigilance’. Oil and gas are off the table. No arms embargo. And even then, China keeps saying, ‘well, I don’t know… too harsh still…’
Poof.
No real sanctions at all.
What the heck? Where did all the promises go?
Of course some people are saying this is good. If India and Pakistan can have The Bomb, why not Iran?
I understand their reasoning. But India and Pakistan did not have Israel thinking they were an ‘existential threat’ against the life of the Israeli nation. Israel thinks that about Iran. Whether that thinking is rational or irrational makes no difference. They think it, and may act upon that thought in the most military of ways.
And the more pressed they feel, and the more alone they feel, the more likely their response will be tragic. Estimates are that they have 200-plus nuclear weapons. (Wait… so why are they so concerned about Iran having just one? Brain melt… oh, wait, that’s just the way the Middle East is.)
Bottom line, we’ve got a cannon rolling around on deck. Now no one has a good rope to even try to keep it in place.
As long as the US promised Israel sanctions, Israel grudgingly went along with seeing if sanctions would work. Now… um… now what?
There is still a chance the US Congress sanctions bill will force this namby-pamby administration to act. But if they do, that just means the US will start the war with Iran. Not really a good option.
The Iranians are jubilant. They feel very strong now. They are kicking Russian commercial pilots out of the country in a show of their new strength, possibly because the Russians have been dragging their feet in supplying Iran with the SA-300 missile umbrella that Iran has already paid for. Maybe now Iran will have the time to produce their own, domestic version. The Iranians are nothing if not excellent engineers. Ask the universities in America where they were educated.
The best hope is that Israel will stand down and let be what will be… which might actually work. Except for those in the Arab world who have promised to end their government. If Israel is perceived as too weak… it’s the same as kids on a playground. They’ll get hit. As in the past, the Israelis know that and are likely to hit first instead.
When the Obama Administration stopped trying to figure out how to put a real sanctions package together, they lost control. They lost control of the situation, and there will be hell to pay before this is over.
