Avoid World War III -- The U.S., Not Israel, Should Attack Iran

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By Owen Rust | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Sat, Feb 4, 2012

COMMENTARY | According to the Christian Science Monitor, it is likely Israel with launch a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities this spring.

While the strike might well be justified, Israel should not be the one to administer the blow. An Israeli-Iranian conflict could easily lead to the decimation of tiny Israel, either through a large-scale Arab retaliation or a massive surge in terrorism encouraged by Iran's ayatollahs. Additionally, Iran could successfully claim victim status, uniting its citizens in a struggle against its attacker and garnering many supporters who have, so far, been ambiguous or ambivalent about supporting the Islamic Republic.

Iran will gain support at home and abroad and, given the fact many of its suspected nuclear facilities are hardened targets with underground bunkers, maintain much of its current WMD capabilities despite textbook-perfect airstrikes. Israel could hit hard and accomplish little but bringing on a wave of retaliation, perhaps even full-scale war, forcing it to decide whether to use its own suspected nuclear arsenal. The irony would be Israel, in an attempt to prevent itself from being nuked in the future, provokes a war that forces it to become the nuclear aggressor.

If Iran's nuclear facilities must be destroyed, it is far safer for the world for the U.S. to use its Navy and Air Force to administer the strikes. Iran would have a more difficult time retaliating against an opponent separated by thousands of miles of ocean than it would against a nearby foe like Israel. Similarly, a mass uprising of Iran's new allies would cause much less harm to the U.S. than it would to Israel.

Iran's nuclear program is wrecked and World War III, complete with potential nuclear warfare, is prevented. Instead of being able to retaliate against a next-door aggressor, Iran is forced to contend with a larger, more powerful foe on the other side of the globe. It has no justification for trying to annihilate Israel, as it has oft threatened. While crisis might not be averted, it is nevertheless much less likely.

If Iran must be struck to cripple its nuclear ambitions, it should be struck by a foe against that it cannot easily retaliate and thereby begin a wide-ranging war.

After 8 years of dealing in a war type situation with the middle east, would it really behoove the united states to get involved in another war time situation, when all major economies are struggling to stay afloat in their respective countries. The matter in the middle east was handled poorly by former President Bush, while the current president doesn't have a clue to what he's doing. Who ever the next president ends up being, they're going to have a massive mess to clean up while trying to jump start the struggling economy.