Tonight more saber rattling in the Middle East. Or is it more serious this time? Israel and Iran may well be on the warpath, and our navy is, right now, in the Strait of Hormuz, patrolling the 35 mile wide oilpath between Iran and Iraq with warships.

This is from a concerned (anonymous) reader,:

Iran’s rise to power is thanks to President George W. Bush and his Iraq war. Thanks to him we removed a historic enemy of Iran, Saddam Hussein, from the picture, and they are now poised to take over the Middle East. Remember in the 1980s when Iraq and Iran went to war? During the first portion of that war Iran was whipping Iraq’s behind and so Reagan sent none other than our good pal Mister Rumsfeld to Iraq to sell him WMDs. We did this in hopes of preventing one powerful force from taking over the world’s oil supply. We succeeded up until 2003 when we removed Saddam from power and now the Shia muslims dominate Iraq. So, Iran has virtually conquered Iraq without firing a shot, but by parliamentary elections.

Remember that before, Saddam used chemical weapons against Iran. That country suffered a million casualties, and would not give up the fight. The people of Iran are the descendants of the Persians, one of the fiercest warrior cultures to ever walk the Earth in ancient times. Fighting them would be equivalent to Japan during the second world war. They would not stop fighting for anything, once they are awakened.

There is a dangerous potential effect of war with Iran and that is a world wide reprisal (Jihad?) against Jews, mainly from Muslims. Factor in that there are about one billion plus Muslims in the world and about fifteen million Jews world wide. It is not too far fetched to see such places as Europe and America go up in smoke as war erupts between these two groups. To back this claim, all one has to do is look at the rising anti-Semitism that is sweeping the globe. The amount of anti-Jewish violence that could come about would make the 1930s pale in comparison.

It is safe to assume that war between Iran and Israel will break out because they are the two toughest kids in the Middle Eastern neighborhood. However, the royal families of such countries as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait secretly met with Israeli officials and gave them their blessing to stop the encroaching threat of Iran into their territory. If war does not break out soon, I estimate that in about ten years Iran will have already spread its sphere of influence into these countries to gain control of their oil supplies, and in effect rule the world economy.

I have heard that the Israeli people are always prepared for war at any time. I have also read that their high school graduates are required to serve in their military for a period of time. They have a very strong military, and a sense of defending their own from enemies. They have proven in the past that they can prevail against impossible odds in war. But if a major war breaks out in the middle east, will this be enough for them to survive? Most likely no. You see, Israel’s military has been portrayed as a smaller version of America’s military, but they are still dependant on the world’s super power to step in on their behalf if things get too tough.

However, some of the things that I have seen from the Obama administration makes me think they are not interested in protecting Israel if they were in a bind. What happens if your big brother leaves you among a bunch of mean, older kids? The little brother will have to step up and beat the bigger kids to a pulp or suffer a humiliating defeat. The Obama administration abandoning Israel adds credence to the idea that they will attack Iran soon, because they have no choice.

I would wager that Israel could take this war on their own for a short period of time, but without the help of America they are ultimately doomed. I could imagine the Muslims swallowing Israel whole unless America stepped in to save them. If not, they will ultimately go nuclear and deliver serious damage to their enemies and both sides will fall. Basically a scenario where you defeat your enemy, but he has caused so much damage to you that you will soon collapse yourself.

Even if America did intervene on Israel’s behalf, I am not sure how we could help them. The two wars that we are in and the operating cost of our overseas empire have now crossed the one trillion dollar mark. America is not in any kind of shape to fight another war, let alone a potential world war, which this would escalate into, if it were to happen. Coupled with mass unemployment, debt, the collapsing environment (gulf oil soil?), wide open borders, fall of the dollar, mistrust of political leaders, etc, I do not see any way we could help without faltering ourselves. It is truly sad that countries that look to us for guidance, leadership and protection will soon have to depend on themselves for these things . . .

This reader goes on to suggest the healing power of prayer.

My comment is to say that this is a disturbing yet thoughtful analysis and should be read. I can’t help comparing our present stagnant economic state with the thirty’s experience and the ensuing war which brought about positive economic change – and I lived through both those periods. War doesn’t just happen. It creeps up, arriving in increments, which was true of WWI and WWII, looking for a trigger.  The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria started the first, the breaking of the Munich Agreement the second . . . Meanwhile, we amuse ourselves with Tea Party posturings and Awards season frantics, while serious business is going on outside and beyond our eye line. Is war in our interest? Not now, not ever, given today’s weapons. I think Obama knows that, and will not lead this nation into an unwinnable war. The clue being that he is set to complete the return of our occupying troops. Will they get jobs back home again?  That’s another story, but for now, for my money, he’s welcome to saber rattle too.  I think he knows what he’s doing, and he has excellent people around him. We don’t need a Churchill or MacArthur. Maybe a Lincoln. Visionary, but firm.