More than three years ago, before Robert Gates became Pentagon chief, he was asked about attacking Iran. His answer was something to the effect that once a war starts, the results are unpredictable. You just need to look Iraq and Afghanistan to see this. The 2006 Israeli war against Hezbollah was not too far in the past at that point either. And I think many people here remember how certain SDF posters were totally sure Georgia was going to defeat Russia in 2008!
I think the point the guy was making was that with both the "efforts" in Iraq and Afghanistan going from bad to worse, it wouldn't be a very smart thing to take risks on a THIRD adventure. It's pretty simple. Even though Iraq has "improved" since then, matters look extremely shaky, and in any case, Afghanistan has used up all the slack generated by the changes in Iraq. And don't forget simmering problems in Yemen, Somalia, etc.
The US -- and Israel too -- talks very loudly about Iran and the DPRK because that's pretty much what it can do now, besides whatever sanction regime it can enforce.
I think the point the guy was making was that with both the "efforts" in Iraq and Afghanistan going from bad to worse, it wouldn't be a very smart thing to take risks on a THIRD adventure. It's pretty simple. Even though Iraq has "improved" since then, matters look extremely shaky, and in any case, Afghanistan has used up all the slack generated by the changes in Iraq. And don't forget simmering problems in Yemen, Somalia, etc.
The US -- and Israel too -- talks very loudly about Iran and the DPRK because that's pretty much what it can do now, besides whatever sanction regime it can enforce.
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