Netanyahu comes out and states flatly that it's up to Israel to stop Iran's nuclear program - I mean, I understand that this may simply be Netanyahu putting pressure on Obama to step up to the plate, but still, I'm sensing a lot of denial in American intellectual circles about what is going on here - maybe Obama has them all duped into thinking that no one would dare do anything bad as long as he's making speeches about how they shouldn't.
Three things strike me here. One, that none or few who comment on the crisis and then dismiss the possibility of an Israeli attack bother to think or at least mention that regardless of it happening keeping an attack on the table makes sense; two, Obama has sent mixed messages on keeping the option alive which leads one to believe there's confusion and disagreement within the administration about how to proceed; and three, none so far that I've noticed recognise that if Israel does not intercede and Iran subsequently acquires the bomb that will represent a big win for Iran and a big loss for Israel with dire consequences to follow, and I don't mean by Iran dropping the big one on Israel - I mean by Iran being highly motivated to exploit that dynamic and Israel equally if not more so motivated to reverse it - in other words, military intervention here by Israel does not represent the only disconcerting scenario, not by a long shot.
Maybe Obama does have them all duped.
update: Ashkenazi now comes out and states that negotiations best way to deal with Iran, but he doubts very much that talks will work - in other words he's stating the obvious: it'd be nice to negotiate a settlement, but only a fool would pin their hopes on it.
