Wednesday, April 21, 2010

We Will NOT Use Force Against Iran! But Against Israel? That's Another Story...

The military option is off the Iranian table as far as Obama is concerned; both the administration and various officers have made it clear that we would rather engage in containment with a nuclear-armed Iran than try to eliminate it beforehand.

But the Israelis haven't taken the military option off their checklist, obviously. There's only one problem: In order to hit Iranian targets, Israel must cross Iraqi airspace, and thus receive permission from the United States to do so.

Bringing us to a very troubling conversation between a young airman and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mullen:

In a town hall on the campus of the University of West Virginia, a young airman asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen to respond to a “rumor.” If Israel decided to attack Iran, the speculation went, those jet would need to fly through Iraqi airspace to reach their targets. That airspace is considered a “no-fly” zone by the American military. So might U.S. troops shoot down the Israeli jets, the airmen asked the chairman, if they breached that airspace?

Mullen tried to sidestep the question. “We have an exceptionally strong relationship with Israel. I’ve spent a lot of time with my counterpart in Israel. So we also have a very clear understanding of where we are. And beyond that, I just wouldn’t get into the speculation of what might happen and who might do what. I don’t think it serves a purpose, frankly,” he said. “I am hopeful that this will be resolved in a way where we never have to answer a question like that.”

The airmen followed-up: “Would an airmen like me ever be ordered to fire on an Israeli – aircraft or personnel?”

Mullen’s second answer was much the same as his first. “Again, I wouldn’t move out into the future very far from here. They’re an extraordinarily close ally, have been for a long time, and will be in the future,” the admiral said.

Let's face it. If the answer was "no, we would never fire on an Israeli jet flying over Iraq", the Admiral would have said so. He very clearly refused to answer the question, which means it has currently been discussed at the highest levels, and that the Joint Chiefs either have no idea what to do, or have already made up their mind what to do, and Mullen didn't think the answer would go over very well.

Terrifying, but what do you expect when you elect a guy named "Hussein"?

Here's the real question - let's assume Israel asks for permission for the flyover first, and they are denied by Obama. They decide, with their nation at risk, to launch an attack anyway. As Israeli warplanes cross the Iraqi desert, Barack Obama gets the 3AM phone call:

"Mr. President, we're tracking a squadron of Israeli airplanes on a trajectory towards Iran, making an unauthorized entry into Iraqi airspace. Let them pass or intercept?"

How will Barack Hussein Obama respond? Well, if I am right about what he truly aspires to, he will answer without hesitation...

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