Volk translated means nation, people or masses and is exactly how I'm using it in describing the western expansion and peopling of the N. American continent by Americans during the whole course of the 19th century.
Adam's was speaking about a country and people of his own times, not ours. Whether he was speaking presciently or in hindsight, the High Federalists (war and imperialism lead by Hamilton)after 1800 were crushed by the Jeffersonians (Republican/Democrat Party) after 1800.
Early Americans wanted nothing to do with foreign entanglements and empire, let alone the kind of centralization and intrusive governance as exists today. The Zeitgeist of the times was westward expansionism, the peopling and taming of a continent. Britain stood in the way and its rule was terminated. The same would have happened to the early Republic had it done the same.
Leftists and haters of America often describe Manifest Destiny as imperialism, but they are wrong. It was a Great migration of peoples, of a many constituted Volk of nationalities, ethnics and creeds seeking a better life, adventure, fame and/or fortune.
Regarding Hamilton and imperialism, it wasn't until the last decade of the 19th century that Hamiltonian imperialism was resurrected among the elites and proselytized to the masses by yellow journalism, gun boat diplomacy & the jingoism of those times. With the conquest of Hawaii the US began its imperialist journey, a process still in a state of becoming, not yet completed.
What became known as the 'Founders' were cognizant that America would follow this path, that every generation must step up to the challenges and threats of their times and win or lose liberty and the republic. Adam's faced that challenge and triumphed by viscerally opposing Hamilton and all he stood for, even though he was a Federalist and that internecine party fight cost him his reelection.
Adams wouldn't be spinning in his grave, he would savagely be demanding what we are going to do. Not what we think, believe or our endless petulance and whining.
And may it also be likely that Obama, working surreptitiously through his 'principals' and appointees has been meddling in Israeli affairs, undermining Netanyahu?
Engelhardt's got it wrong, not in his characterization of Obama as 'Clark Kent at home - Imperial Superman Abroad,' but that he and fellow lefties proverbially can't see the forest for the trees.
The left is so thoroughly blinded by their ideological conniptions they can't see their 'man,' when they got him.
Should Obama be exactly everything Engelhardt want's him to be, this prez or any would wind up more hated than Bush and either impeached or assassinated.
And the US is not an empire yet. I haven't seen the mass executions and imprisonment of Congressmen, judges, federal, state and local pols and authorities that would presage and herald the end of the republic. There are still 3 functional branches of government, though these agencies don't work as lefties imagine such should, not to mention the vast cacophony of governance across the landscapes of America. This may be news to some, but the US is still a republic with all the political limitations, travails and cautions an astute politician needs to know and master to survive domestically.
The real Obama is the guy who came out of the gates from day one, who got his ass handed to him when he found himself abandoned by his own party and disenchanted left when the man proved he was just that...a man...not Moses or some god. What this prez has proven to me is that for all his youth and inexperience he is a quick study and learner, who can "take a licking and keep on ticking."
And he sure as hell played a big part in preventing a global depression, that would have been infinitely worse than the 30's with all of us like rats in the bottom of a barrel, fighting over the last handfuls of corn. I could go on, but I don't want to write a book.
If when you say public opinion, you mean the attitudes of the unwashed masses your dead wrong. The only pubic opinion that matters in the US is that which reigns within its "establishment" of power, and that's not as solid as it once was before 19 March 2003.
The US was once adamantly opposed to an Iranian nuclear program, but now recognizes enrichment as an Iranian fait accompli. The only disagreement is the level of enrichment, but whether its 2, 5 or 20 percent its a win for Iran and a loser for Israel.
It doesn't end there. The US and its partners in the P5+1 group not only conceded Iranian enrichment, they have further accepted to engage this issue under the terms of the NPT, not under UNSC decrees and sanctions, a long held Iranian demand and another win.
Nor does it matter whether these negotiations are heated, long & rocky, or interrupted or postponed, they are perennial occurrences driven by changing regional and geopolitical factors beyond Israel's control, an unwanted consequence of conspiring with Bushite's, traitors and fellow travelers in stooging the US into a war in the M/E.
It doesn't matter who will be the Republican standard bearer, because this primary has produced enough lode stones to tie around the neck of any candidate in the general election.
The maniacal right is the majority in the Republican party. They are in power not by any efforts of their own. In 2010 the masses simply registered their disaffection when Obama proved not to be a miracle worker. The maniacs benefited from the fickleness of the voters, not their ideologies or polices.
I for one exhort the Republicans into ever greater outbursts of maniacal speech, because I know 6 November next will have an entirely different outcome than what Republicans expect or hope.
Advertizing isn't the problem. There was no shortage of it in the early republic and far more rancorous, defamatory and libelous than what's published today.
Nor is money, per se, a problem. Its the onerous and complicated campaign finance filing requirements that literally crushes political speech by individuals. Corporate America and the rich can afford the attorneys and accountants, whereas the little people can't.
"Free Speech" in the 1st amendment meant unencumbered political speech by all classes of individuals; nothing more, nothing less. The problem isn't money, its the passage of legislation since the 60's that has adulterated the meaning of "free speech," shackling the individual exercise of, and granting greater advantage and privilege to elite power by means of these spurious campaign reform acts.
Nullifying every campaign finance reform act passed by local, state and federal authority, making it illegal for corporations public, private, charitable, etc from engaging in any form of electoral activity (besides exterminating the person-hood fiction), and returning to the original intent of the 1st amendment, not just its "free speech" portion is the way to solve the "problem."
Not so. WW II is what changed everything; politics, society and culture after 1945.
Corporate America and the moneyed elites wanted to change the clock back before 1933, but ran into lots of public & political resistance. 140 million Americans had been changed irrevocably and viscerally opposed being dragged wholesale back to the past. Some 16 millions of them were combat veterans, which also marvelously concentrated the minds of elites like a hanging on a fortnight.
It were the Depression and WWII generations, hammered and forged between the anvil and fires of those experiences, who created the post war world order; a new paradise in Eden. A world their unworthy children & grandchildren squandered and piddled away into the sewers by lewd behavior and unchecked licentiousness. The spoiled brats they spawned is the only failure the "greatest generation" can be blamed for, and its been a downhill racer ever since the boomers came into their majority in the later 60's.
That's why today's elites believe they can turn back the hand of time. Eden is lost and the elites, the fools, will find themselves lost with it too.
Ever since the 1970's the US has experienced several campaign finance reforms, with the effect of making the problem far worse than what it was before.
Today's super pac's are birthlings of the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform of 2000. I warned advocates the bill would have the opposite effect than what was advertized, and so it has.
The same fate will befall any other schemes dreamed up by issue advocates and activists, until the 1st amendment right to "freedom of speech" is to all intents and purposes eliminated.
We have already evolved beyond campaign finance reform and saving the "5th party system," or to be honest the American 5th republic.
We are in the age of class warfare, the battle between optimate/plutocracy and plebe/populism. These super pac's can only exasperate the problem. But more importantly, the fools on top have forgotten that in the US, impoverished wage-slaves can vote.
What will these fools do when the masses elect the Man OF Democracy?
If the Iranians aren't interested in building a bomb, than what's the point of the sanctions? Messing around with the supply of oil in an age of resource depletion and declining reserves is playing Russian roulette with the global economy, with all the chambers loaded.
Regardless of official policies and declarations, the Iranians are probably doing exactly what the Israelis fear they are doing; developing the technology and skills to become an armed nuclear power.
The problem is that sanctions and half-assed military options like bombing won't prevent the Iranians from achieving their goal. If anything, it probably will accelerate Iranian ambitions in becoming a nuclear power sooner than later.
"...BIG-OIL might like that, of course, but who else..?"
Nobody of course, and as the game plays on 'big oil' won't much like it either.
The EU is barely surviving economically with fuel costs skyrocketing, and the US is already caving on exemptions with Japan, China and other far east countries importing Iranian crude.
Loss of production from Yemen, Sudan and Syria on top of banned Iranian crude is causing market fears driving speculation, higher prices and jeopardizing the US recovery. No one believes Saudi Arabia and the Arab gulf states has the capacity to make up the global shortfall.
Despite the jingoism, Iranians are unified against buckling under what they consider illegal and unjust pressure against their country, besides believing they have a right to enrich uranium under the non proliferation treaty. The Iranians have unilaterally stopped oil shipments to England and France 4 months ahead of the EU import ban, and are threatening to terminate supplies to other European states.
The genius's who dreamed up this oil embargo sold it as having little impact on the global economy, but the game has only started to play and the pain is already being felt at the pumps and in the markets. It comes down to who will scream 'uncle' first.
Iranians cracking from "public pressure?" Dream on!
The generals remarks are warning shots across Netanyahu's bows and an unofficial message to the Iranians that the US is not in lockstep with the maniacs in Tel Aviv.
US and Israeli policy on Iran is diverging and the Israelis and their front groups can do nothing about it.
I would take a long moment and re-think John H's premise several times more, and than again before totally writing it off.
Apparently its forgotten the social, professional and political discrimination Jewish/Americans suffered prior to WWII in the US. It was WWII and genocide that turned public opinion, not money, media influence and Hollywood where Jewish/Americans held some prominence.
Zealous, Zionist insane asylum escapees are a threat to patriotic and loyal Jewish/Americans, who are fully aware that love for Israel among America's masses is not broad or deep.
Nation 'states' aren't human beings. They are corporate entities solely based on the the instruments of violence and monopolization of force. That's "reality".
Iran is determined to have a nuclear capability with or without weapons no matter the cost. Israel is determined the Iranians shall not even possess a limited uranium enrichment program for domestic medical and industrial purposes no matter the cost.
That's your "negative sum game", and left to themselves there are no "positive sum outcomes."
Hated or loved, liked or not, the US is the only player in this game of realpolitik that may accomplish an outcome less than optimal for the parties involved short of war, regional devastation and a global economic meltdown.
The only point of an Israeli attack would be to draw the US into a war with Iran. This would be the ultimate gamble, since the Obama and Bush administrations have on numerous occasions warned Israel against provoking or starting a war.
The Iranians don't need to produce nukes to counter and diminish Israeli hegemony in the M/E. They merely need to become a nuclear capable state like Brazil or Japan, which full mastery of uranium enrichment and related technologies gives them.
Except for insane asylum escapees, the consensus of defense analysts and experts is that Israel does not have the assets/capabilities to strike Iran and win.
Should the maniacs in Tell Aviv start it and the US become embroiled in the conflict, it will require far more firepower than the arsenals of air & naval task forces, but land invasions and amphibious operations on a scale not seen since WWII. Anything less means certain defeat.
The US military currently does not have the manpower for that kind of war. And to fight that kind of war will demand conscription, since an all volunteer military cannot sustain and make up for the wastage in human life. The Iranians otoh have prepared and trained for such a war and are determined not to go quietly into the night.
Your "let Israel suffer the consequences of a self-inflicted wound contrary to strong US advice" is the likely outcome of an Israeli provocation. To do otherwise means the total militarization of US society and economy if the US were to have any expectation of winning such a war.
I believe those are steps too far for Americas ruling elites, let alone its masses.
The Israelis already believe this is the hidden goal of the US administration, and why Netanyahu and the Zionist lobby are viscerally opposed to a second term Obama.
Though the majority of Israelis don't know it yet, their Netanyahu is in every respect like our Bush 44, the Shrub. The day will come when they'll condemn their goof as viscerally as Americans came to despise theirs.
2010 midterms were primarily a reassertion of the red/blue state divide that was temporarily skewed in 2008, inevitable dashed hopes among a petty electorate that the new king was not divine who could not or would not as the bias may be, on his failure to deliver on promises and their wishes.
2012 November next, Republicans will have sufficiently reminded fickle voters why they got rid of them in the first place, granting the current POTUS another term in the W/H.
The US has no where near the massive numbers of B-2 bombers or whiz bang missiles necessary to pulverize Iranians into submission.
In any case relying upon air-power alone is a losers strategy. The doctrine failed to deliver victory in WWII, Vietnam and the US wasted billions on high tech ordnance trying to cow Saddam Hussein. As a stand alone response to an Iranian closure of the straits its guaranteed to fail spectacularly and no one will be going home to "Missouri" or by Xmas.
The Iranians will target the tankers, forcing US naval task forces and assets into harms way, in a littoral, war-fighting environment to protect those tankers. It can't be done 'over the horizon.'
I agree Iran is the top foreign policy challenge for the US in 2012. A war in the gulf would be an even greater 'strategic disaster' for the US than Iraq, which killed American Hyper-power and the uni-polar global order the US had won by default.
A war in the gulf, straits of Hormuz and littoral coastal zones near Iran may prove that carrier task forces are as obsolete as battleships were proved at Pearl Harbor. Sunk or decimated naval task forces mean the end of American power projection, any pretensions to global and possibly regional hegemony, not to mention the destruction of the US economy should the straits remain closed.
With the exception of Ron Paul, none of the other candidates can achieve anything other than burying the Republican party deeper in its grave. Or in Gingrich's case killing it out of hand if he were the parties nominee.
Paul's the man, but beyond Iowa his prospects dim in the political graveyards of party racketeering in the so called 'open primaries' that dominate the nominating process. There's no democracy (people power) in America, never has and never will.
al-Zamili has gotten what he begged and murdered for. And in the having he and other thugs like him may likely wind up convincing Iraqi's that a closer and deeper US/Iraqi relationship may not be such a bad thing after all.
The US legislature, or Congress did not constitutional declare war against Iraq. It conceded its authority to the President by legislation, which is itself an unconstitutional act.
Treason, if anyone really believes in the US constitution, understands that treason is a daily affair perpetrated in myriad ways by many of America's citizens, not solely or just by the goofs in Congress.
The only thing heartening about the whole sordid mess is that Arab/Muslim American's are finally responding and fighting back.
As all immigrants who have come to the US have learned, no one can duck into the corners and hide, hoping to practice a creed or preserving ethnic or cultural norms while profiting and enjoying life in America. America doesn't work that way.
Sooner or later some event, circumstance or tragedy causes the majority to afflict the newly arrived minority. In this case 9/11 was the catalyst. The solution is TOTAL engagement in the society, media, politics, public affairs and governance of the American experience.
That's how Americans win their liberties and ultimately keep them.
Charitable, cultural and educational efforts are not enough and never were for any of the myriad immigrants who came to America. Just ask the Germans, Irish, Polish, and Jews to name a few.
Arab/Muslim Americans must aspire to greater participation in the political, civil and public affairs of the American system of governance, not cower or complain waiting for someone else to fight their fight.
The historically interesting thing about this development is the people who are at first opposed.
You would think the generals, admirals, diplomats and spooks would be at the forefront fighting for these powers, when in fact its the civilian authorities or facsimiles of, whose villainies & thievery by nefarious schemes and plots inadvertently puts power into the hands of the above.
Eisenhower didn't warn us about the Pentagon or the military taking over. He was pointing his fingers at plundering corporate/congressional cabal who were stupidly clearing & paving the path to tyranny, by destroying the republic, rule of law & constitutional barriers erected by infinitely better men and women.
One day light bulbs are going to explode in the minds of the generals, admirals, diplomats and spokes. And Congress will no more be able to save themselves than they can save us.
The temple mount and western wall are the remains of the Roman fort Antonia, which was sited just north of Herod's temple on the ridge of the spur (city of David) directly over the Gihon spring.
According to Flavius Josephus the only structure standing after the desolation of Jerusalem was the Roman fort. The Jewish temple was particularly targeted and razed to its foundations.
Volk translated means nation, people or masses and is exactly how I'm using it in describing the western expansion and peopling of the N. American continent by Americans during the whole course of the 19th century.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Adams...spinning in his grave?
Adam's was speaking about a country and people of his own times, not ours. Whether he was speaking presciently or in hindsight, the High Federalists (war and imperialism lead by Hamilton)after 1800 were crushed by the Jeffersonians (Republican/Democrat Party) after 1800.
Early Americans wanted nothing to do with foreign entanglements and empire, let alone the kind of centralization and intrusive governance as exists today. The Zeitgeist of the times was westward expansionism, the peopling and taming of a continent. Britain stood in the way and its rule was terminated. The same would have happened to the early Republic had it done the same.
Leftists and haters of America often describe Manifest Destiny as imperialism, but they are wrong. It was a Great migration of peoples, of a many constituted Volk of nationalities, ethnics and creeds seeking a better life, adventure, fame and/or fortune.
Regarding Hamilton and imperialism, it wasn't until the last decade of the 19th century that Hamiltonian imperialism was resurrected among the elites and proselytized to the masses by yellow journalism, gun boat diplomacy & the jingoism of those times. With the conquest of Hawaii the US began its imperialist journey, a process still in a state of becoming, not yet completed.
What became known as the 'Founders' were cognizant that America would follow this path, that every generation must step up to the challenges and threats of their times and win or lose liberty and the republic. Adam's faced that challenge and triumphed by viscerally opposing Hamilton and all he stood for, even though he was a Federalist and that internecine party fight cost him his reelection.
Adams wouldn't be spinning in his grave, he would savagely be demanding what we are going to do. Not what we think, believe or our endless petulance and whining.
And may it also be likely that Obama, working surreptitiously through his 'principals' and appointees has been meddling in Israeli affairs, undermining Netanyahu?
Engelhardt's got it wrong, not in his characterization of Obama as 'Clark Kent at home - Imperial Superman Abroad,' but that he and fellow lefties proverbially can't see the forest for the trees.
The left is so thoroughly blinded by their ideological conniptions they can't see their 'man,' when they got him.
Should Obama be exactly everything Engelhardt want's him to be, this prez or any would wind up more hated than Bush and either impeached or assassinated.
And the US is not an empire yet. I haven't seen the mass executions and imprisonment of Congressmen, judges, federal, state and local pols and authorities that would presage and herald the end of the republic. There are still 3 functional branches of government, though these agencies don't work as lefties imagine such should, not to mention the vast cacophony of governance across the landscapes of America. This may be news to some, but the US is still a republic with all the political limitations, travails and cautions an astute politician needs to know and master to survive domestically.
The real Obama is the guy who came out of the gates from day one, who got his ass handed to him when he found himself abandoned by his own party and disenchanted left when the man proved he was just that...a man...not Moses or some god. What this prez has proven to me is that for all his youth and inexperience he is a quick study and learner, who can "take a licking and keep on ticking."
And he sure as hell played a big part in preventing a global depression, that would have been infinitely worse than the 30's with all of us like rats in the bottom of a barrel, fighting over the last handfuls of corn. I could go on, but I don't want to write a book.
If when you say public opinion, you mean the attitudes of the unwashed masses your dead wrong. The only pubic opinion that matters in the US is that which reigns within its "establishment" of power, and that's not as solid as it once was before 19 March 2003.
The US was once adamantly opposed to an Iranian nuclear program, but now recognizes enrichment as an Iranian fait accompli. The only disagreement is the level of enrichment, but whether its 2, 5 or 20 percent its a win for Iran and a loser for Israel.
It doesn't end there. The US and its partners in the P5+1 group not only conceded Iranian enrichment, they have further accepted to engage this issue under the terms of the NPT, not under UNSC decrees and sanctions, a long held Iranian demand and another win.
Nor does it matter whether these negotiations are heated, long & rocky, or interrupted or postponed, they are perennial occurrences driven by changing regional and geopolitical factors beyond Israel's control, an unwanted consequence of conspiring with Bushite's, traitors and fellow travelers in stooging the US into a war in the M/E.
It doesn't matter who will be the Republican standard bearer, because this primary has produced enough lode stones to tie around the neck of any candidate in the general election.
The maniacal right is the majority in the Republican party. They are in power not by any efforts of their own. In 2010 the masses simply registered their disaffection when Obama proved not to be a miracle worker. The maniacs benefited from the fickleness of the voters, not their ideologies or polices.
I for one exhort the Republicans into ever greater outbursts of maniacal speech, because I know 6 November next will have an entirely different outcome than what Republicans expect or hope.
Advertizing isn't the problem. There was no shortage of it in the early republic and far more rancorous, defamatory and libelous than what's published today.
Nor is money, per se, a problem. Its the onerous and complicated campaign finance filing requirements that literally crushes political speech by individuals. Corporate America and the rich can afford the attorneys and accountants, whereas the little people can't.
"Free Speech" in the 1st amendment meant unencumbered political speech by all classes of individuals; nothing more, nothing less. The problem isn't money, its the passage of legislation since the 60's that has adulterated the meaning of "free speech," shackling the individual exercise of, and granting greater advantage and privilege to elite power by means of these spurious campaign reform acts.
Nullifying every campaign finance reform act passed by local, state and federal authority, making it illegal for corporations public, private, charitable, etc from engaging in any form of electoral activity (besides exterminating the person-hood fiction), and returning to the original intent of the 1st amendment, not just its "free speech" portion is the way to solve the "problem."
Anything else will fail.
Not so. WW II is what changed everything; politics, society and culture after 1945.
Corporate America and the moneyed elites wanted to change the clock back before 1933, but ran into lots of public & political resistance. 140 million Americans had been changed irrevocably and viscerally opposed being dragged wholesale back to the past. Some 16 millions of them were combat veterans, which also marvelously concentrated the minds of elites like a hanging on a fortnight.
It were the Depression and WWII generations, hammered and forged between the anvil and fires of those experiences, who created the post war world order; a new paradise in Eden. A world their unworthy children & grandchildren squandered and piddled away into the sewers by lewd behavior and unchecked licentiousness. The spoiled brats they spawned is the only failure the "greatest generation" can be blamed for, and its been a downhill racer ever since the boomers came into their majority in the later 60's.
That's why today's elites believe they can turn back the hand of time. Eden is lost and the elites, the fools, will find themselves lost with it too.
Ever since the 1970's the US has experienced several campaign finance reforms, with the effect of making the problem far worse than what it was before.
Today's super pac's are birthlings of the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform of 2000. I warned advocates the bill would have the opposite effect than what was advertized, and so it has.
The same fate will befall any other schemes dreamed up by issue advocates and activists, until the 1st amendment right to "freedom of speech" is to all intents and purposes eliminated.
We have already evolved beyond campaign finance reform and saving the "5th party system," or to be honest the American 5th republic.
We are in the age of class warfare, the battle between optimate/plutocracy and plebe/populism. These super pac's can only exasperate the problem. But more importantly, the fools on top have forgotten that in the US, impoverished wage-slaves can vote.
What will these fools do when the masses elect the Man OF Democracy?
Oh, I forgot.
American opinion on this issue is probably ranked in importance as lower than whale shit on the list of national issues confronting the country.
If the Iranians aren't interested in building a bomb, than what's the point of the sanctions? Messing around with the supply of oil in an age of resource depletion and declining reserves is playing Russian roulette with the global economy, with all the chambers loaded.
Regardless of official policies and declarations, the Iranians are probably doing exactly what the Israelis fear they are doing; developing the technology and skills to become an armed nuclear power.
The problem is that sanctions and half-assed military options like bombing won't prevent the Iranians from achieving their goal. If anything, it probably will accelerate Iranian ambitions in becoming a nuclear power sooner than later.
"...BIG-OIL might like that, of course, but who else..?"
Nobody of course, and as the game plays on 'big oil' won't much like it either.
The EU is barely surviving economically with fuel costs skyrocketing, and the US is already caving on exemptions with Japan, China and other far east countries importing Iranian crude.
Loss of production from Yemen, Sudan and Syria on top of banned Iranian crude is causing market fears driving speculation, higher prices and jeopardizing the US recovery. No one believes Saudi Arabia and the Arab gulf states has the capacity to make up the global shortfall.
Despite the jingoism, Iranians are unified against buckling under what they consider illegal and unjust pressure against their country, besides believing they have a right to enrich uranium under the non proliferation treaty. The Iranians have unilaterally stopped oil shipments to England and France 4 months ahead of the EU import ban, and are threatening to terminate supplies to other European states.
The genius's who dreamed up this oil embargo sold it as having little impact on the global economy, but the game has only started to play and the pain is already being felt at the pumps and in the markets. It comes down to who will scream 'uncle' first.
Until 6 November next Obama HAS to play a double game. I would lose all respect for the man if he didn't.
Iranians cracking from "public pressure?" Dream on!
The generals remarks are warning shots across Netanyahu's bows and an unofficial message to the Iranians that the US is not in lockstep with the maniacs in Tel Aviv.
US and Israeli policy on Iran is diverging and the Israelis and their front groups can do nothing about it.
"...We hope you will be happy in retirement, which is certainly your destiny..."
Won't happen.
I would take a long moment and re-think John H's premise several times more, and than again before totally writing it off.
Apparently its forgotten the social, professional and political discrimination Jewish/Americans suffered prior to WWII in the US. It was WWII and genocide that turned public opinion, not money, media influence and Hollywood where Jewish/Americans held some prominence.
Zealous, Zionist insane asylum escapees are a threat to patriotic and loyal Jewish/Americans, who are fully aware that love for Israel among America's masses is not broad or deep.
I don't agree
Nation 'states' aren't human beings. They are corporate entities solely based on the the instruments of violence and monopolization of force. That's "reality".
Iran is determined to have a nuclear capability with or without weapons no matter the cost. Israel is determined the Iranians shall not even possess a limited uranium enrichment program for domestic medical and industrial purposes no matter the cost.
That's your "negative sum game", and left to themselves there are no "positive sum outcomes."
Hated or loved, liked or not, the US is the only player in this game of realpolitik that may accomplish an outcome less than optimal for the parties involved short of war, regional devastation and a global economic meltdown.
The only point of an Israeli attack would be to draw the US into a war with Iran. This would be the ultimate gamble, since the Obama and Bush administrations have on numerous occasions warned Israel against provoking or starting a war.
The Iranians don't need to produce nukes to counter and diminish Israeli hegemony in the M/E. They merely need to become a nuclear capable state like Brazil or Japan, which full mastery of uranium enrichment and related technologies gives them.
Except for insane asylum escapees, the consensus of defense analysts and experts is that Israel does not have the assets/capabilities to strike Iran and win.
Should the maniacs in Tell Aviv start it and the US become embroiled in the conflict, it will require far more firepower than the arsenals of air & naval task forces, but land invasions and amphibious operations on a scale not seen since WWII. Anything less means certain defeat.
The US military currently does not have the manpower for that kind of war. And to fight that kind of war will demand conscription, since an all volunteer military cannot sustain and make up for the wastage in human life. The Iranians otoh have prepared and trained for such a war and are determined not to go quietly into the night.
Your "let Israel suffer the consequences of a self-inflicted wound contrary to strong US advice" is the likely outcome of an Israeli provocation. To do otherwise means the total militarization of US society and economy if the US were to have any expectation of winning such a war.
I believe those are steps too far for Americas ruling elites, let alone its masses.
The Israelis already believe this is the hidden goal of the US administration, and why Netanyahu and the Zionist lobby are viscerally opposed to a second term Obama.
And these guys blame Obama for waging 'class warfare?' The brainless fools gift the man in the W/H every time they open their mouths.
I believe no matter how bad the economy gets, blame will not stick as much to Obama as the fear of another Republican regency.
The worm's turning sooner then expected.
Though the majority of Israelis don't know it yet, their Netanyahu is in every respect like our Bush 44, the Shrub. The day will come when they'll condemn their goof as viscerally as Americans came to despise theirs.
2008 Bush hate got Obama elected.
2010 midterms were primarily a reassertion of the red/blue state divide that was temporarily skewed in 2008, inevitable dashed hopes among a petty electorate that the new king was not divine who could not or would not as the bias may be, on his failure to deliver on promises and their wishes.
2012 November next, Republicans will have sufficiently reminded fickle voters why they got rid of them in the first place, granting the current POTUS another term in the W/H.
The US has no where near the massive numbers of B-2 bombers or whiz bang missiles necessary to pulverize Iranians into submission.
In any case relying upon air-power alone is a losers strategy. The doctrine failed to deliver victory in WWII, Vietnam and the US wasted billions on high tech ordnance trying to cow Saddam Hussein. As a stand alone response to an Iranian closure of the straits its guaranteed to fail spectacularly and no one will be going home to "Missouri" or by Xmas.
The Iranians will target the tankers, forcing US naval task forces and assets into harms way, in a littoral, war-fighting environment to protect those tankers. It can't be done 'over the horizon.'
I agree Iran is the top foreign policy challenge for the US in 2012. A war in the gulf would be an even greater 'strategic disaster' for the US than Iraq, which killed American Hyper-power and the uni-polar global order the US had won by default.
A war in the gulf, straits of Hormuz and littoral coastal zones near Iran may prove that carrier task forces are as obsolete as battleships were proved at Pearl Harbor. Sunk or decimated naval task forces mean the end of American power projection, any pretensions to global and possibly regional hegemony, not to mention the destruction of the US economy should the straits remain closed.
With the exception of Ron Paul, none of the other candidates can achieve anything other than burying the Republican party deeper in its grave. Or in Gingrich's case killing it out of hand if he were the parties nominee.
Paul's the man, but beyond Iowa his prospects dim in the political graveyards of party racketeering in the so called 'open primaries' that dominate the nominating process. There's no democracy (people power) in America, never has and never will.
al-Zamili has gotten what he begged and murdered for. And in the having he and other thugs like him may likely wind up convincing Iraqi's that a closer and deeper US/Iraqi relationship may not be such a bad thing after all.
The US legislature, or Congress did not constitutional declare war against Iraq. It conceded its authority to the President by legislation, which is itself an unconstitutional act.
Treason, if anyone really believes in the US constitution, understands that treason is a daily affair perpetrated in myriad ways by many of America's citizens, not solely or just by the goofs in Congress.
The only thing heartening about the whole sordid mess is that Arab/Muslim American's are finally responding and fighting back.
As all immigrants who have come to the US have learned, no one can duck into the corners and hide, hoping to practice a creed or preserving ethnic or cultural norms while profiting and enjoying life in America. America doesn't work that way.
Sooner or later some event, circumstance or tragedy causes the majority to afflict the newly arrived minority. In this case 9/11 was the catalyst. The solution is TOTAL engagement in the society, media, politics, public affairs and governance of the American experience.
That's how Americans win their liberties and ultimately keep them.
Charitable, cultural and educational efforts are not enough and never were for any of the myriad immigrants who came to America. Just ask the Germans, Irish, Polish, and Jews to name a few.
Arab/Muslim Americans must aspire to greater participation in the political, civil and public affairs of the American system of governance, not cower or complain waiting for someone else to fight their fight.
The historically interesting thing about this development is the people who are at first opposed.
You would think the generals, admirals, diplomats and spooks would be at the forefront fighting for these powers, when in fact its the civilian authorities or facsimiles of, whose villainies & thievery by nefarious schemes and plots inadvertently puts power into the hands of the above.
Eisenhower didn't warn us about the Pentagon or the military taking over. He was pointing his fingers at plundering corporate/congressional cabal who were stupidly clearing & paving the path to tyranny, by destroying the republic, rule of law & constitutional barriers erected by infinitely better men and women.
One day light bulbs are going to explode in the minds of the generals, admirals, diplomats and spokes. And Congress will no more be able to save themselves than they can save us.
The temple mount and western wall are the remains of the Roman fort Antonia, which was sited just north of Herod's temple on the ridge of the spur (city of David) directly over the Gihon spring.
According to Flavius Josephus the only structure standing after the desolation of Jerusalem was the Roman fort. The Jewish temple was particularly targeted and razed to its foundations.