And by pumping up the volume I mean this:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 — The United States and Britain will begin moving additional warships and strike aircraft into the Persian Gulf region in a display of military resolve toward Iran that will come as the United Nations continues to debate possible sanctions against the country, Pentagon and military officials said Wednesday.
The officials said that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was expected this week to approve a request by commanders for a second aircraft carrier and its supporting ships to be stationed within quick sailing distance of Iran by early next year.
Of course, Iran shouldn’t view this as indicating an intent to bomb the hell out of their miltary installations and nuclear facilities. Not at all. It’s just a gentle reminder that we can blow their shit up if we feel like it, so maybe they’d better cool their jets, so to speak.
The trouble with this type of provocation is that you never know how it’s going to turn out. Sometimes, nothing of any significance happens. Sometimes, by the grace of God (and a President more inclined to use diplomacy rather than military force) a nuclear holocaust is narrowly avoided. And sometimes, people sort of blunder into a conflagration which everyone, in retrospect would have sought to avoid if they could have foreseen the results of their sabre rattling bluster and bombast.
Iran’s leaders are no Boy Scouts, and they clearly have sought to hinder our interests in the Middle East by taking advantage of our misteps in Iraq. However, I for one don’t think it behooves us to threaten them at this point in time with hints and suggestions of another unilateral military action by our armed forces in the Persian Gulf. Threats of annilhilation and regime change are the last thing we should be doing right now. As even Jim Baker realizes, we should be trying to engage them diplomatically. Unfortunately that’s the one option Bush and Cheney have consistently taken off the table.
