Foreign Policy President: Iran Threatening Israel

Okay, I can already hear you asking, "So what's new?"  Well, honestly, not a whole lot.  In this particular case, Iran is claiming that the drone it created and gave to Hezbollah transmitted, real time, images of Israeli military installations back to Iran.  Now, if true, that's a very bad thing.  It would mean, among other things, that they had been able to adapt some of the technology from the drone the CIA lost over Iran.  If true.

Here's the thing: it's a bad thing even if it isn't true.  Belligerence toward Israel from Iran is nothing new.  What is new is the brazen manner in which they're rattling their sabers now.  When George W. Bush was president, Iran would make dark, menacing noises about how it would "retaliate" if Israel did anything, but everything was very vague "don't test us," kind of language.  Now that Barack Obama is president Iran is much less circumspect.

Now, I don't really think Iran is quite stupid enough, yet, to launch an attack on Israel.  On the other hand, I do know that Barack Obama won't do a thing to stop them from getting to that point.  In many ways, Iran is like the bar room bully who is psyching himself up to a fight.  America, traditionally, has taken the role of very visible, very intimidating bouncer who comes along every now and again to remind them to be polite.  That stopped about 4 years ago.  Now Iran seems to need another one of those reminders, but Barack Obama's foreign policy seems to be "oh, it'll be fine."

A fight between Iran and Israel would be bad on many, many levels.  Not just because our treaty obligations, which may well be contradictory in such a conflict, based on how other powers in the region line up.  There are also economic realities.  A Middle East at war is bad for everyone, including us.  A middle east at nuclear war is even worse, and Iran has made it quite clear that it will continue to pursue nuclear weapons no matter what anyone says.

This is just one more piece of evidence that Barack Obama's Middle East policy, indeed his entire foreign policy, given Russia's involvement in the area, is a shambles.  This situation is a direct result of the pathetically weak foreign policy.  Four more years of this President may well see a new war in the Middle East, a war with disastrous consequences for everyone.