Thursday, December 15, 2005

Iran with Nukes?

In considering the ramifications of an Iranian Nuclear capability, it is well to recall a much-used strategy from Iran’s 8-year war with Iraq.

During that war the Imams of the Revolutionary Council deemed it reasonable to send hundreds of unarmed 12-year-old boys ahead of their infantry to cross minefields for the single purpose of detonating the mines so the armed men would not be injured by those mines. The concentrated zealotry of a country that would embrace this strategem was one of the heavy factors that swayed the U.S. toward supporting Saddam as a regional counterpoise.

That was before he revealed territorial ambitions beyond the marshes of the Shat-al-Arab.

That zealotry may have seemed at times to soften, but there is still a deep core to that boil that wants lancing.