I haven't said a lot about this topic because I don't really know where I stand on the issue. I know the leader of Iran is a real kook and possibly one of the most dangerous men on the planet. If Israel is attacked with nuclear weapons, I know there would be a price to pay by both Israel and if not then hopefully by the U.S. This is the only thing that will keep it from happening.
That being said, I have to say that my two youngest kids were taken care of by a former school teacher from Tehran who was really good with them. She escaped from Tehran after the fall of the Shah. They have family in Iran and they definitely are not of the radical Muslim sect although they practice the religion. Her husband was in the air force for Iran before the fall.
I also went to school with a girl whose uncle was in charge of all the military forces under the Shah. She showed us a picture of her uncle in Time magazine, I believe, and he was in a morgue riddled with bullets.
The radical religious took control of Iran during a rapid change of modernization the Shah provided. Many people were resentful of the changes under the Shah partly because they were scared of it.
The best chance of change in Iran will come from within. There are a lot of oppressed people in Iran and they are embracing the modern world and rejecting the religious zealots in power. The best chance of change is with them. Israel has been used as a tool in the Arab world much as Iraq is being used as a tool in the U.S.
Iran is a much bigger nation than Iraq and if we are having trouble with Iraq, we would never do well as an outside force in Iran. It would only allow the mullahs to unite the people out of fear against us. Change must come from within, and given enough time, it will.
Our dependence on foreign oil and lack of a good energy policy in the U.S. has given considerable resources to the government of Iran to use against us and the moderate elements in Iran. Iran is increasingly coming under the sphere of influence of China who wants their oil.
It is pretty scary.
I could see that China would threaten the U.S. and friends if we escalated things with on the nuclear front with Iran because of a nuclear strike against Israel in the form of a missile or a terrorist bomb smuggled in.
The world is definitely a more dangerous place. With this danger we have to be real careful. Much more careful than we have been with Iraq.