<<A ranking Swiss official privately said, "Anyone with a modicum of experience in the Middle East knows that any bombing of Iran would touch off at the very least regional instability and what could be an unmitigated disaster for Western interests.">>
I would have liked to know what the Swiss official thought the "unmitigated disaster" could be, and how he came to those conclusions, but it looks like the Washington Times (a right-wing publication of the Moonies) wasn't gonna go anywhere near that with a ten-foot pole.
In my own view, the targets are too hard for a bombing campaign to damage sufficiently, and Iran would definitely retaliate against U.S. troops in Iraq. Probably by missile strikes on their camps. Retaliatory bombing of Iranian cities won't stop the attacks but will enrage all Muslims, leading to more problems for America's puppet governments, up to and including overthrow. Americans have neither the cojones nor the manpower to follow up their air strikes with a ground invasion, so the net effect of the whole exercise will be to inform the world that once again, America has been unable to enforce its will by military means.
America's failure and the "collateral damage" to Iranian civilians will fuel new recruiting drives for "terrorists" and Islamic Revolutionaries in the puppet states, embolden the Iranian hard-liners for new adventures and strengthen Shi'ite communities as they become known as the spearhead of the anti-American forces in the region. Increased pressure on America militarily (including so-called "terrorisn") leads to further asymmetrical expenditures of hundreds of billions, weakening the dollar further.
A combination of weakened dollar, perceived military weakness and rising anti-American anger leads to sell-offs of U.S. dollar-denominated securities and even real estate. Oil prices are pushed through the roof at the same time by the threats of all-out Middle East war. Economic consequences for America could be pretty bad.
Oh, well. No one can say that America doesn't have it coming. Let's see whether George Bush is as dumb as he looks and sounds.
