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In reply to the discussion: Iran Guard commander: ‘Nothing will remain’ of Israel if it attacks [View all]Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)His multi ethnic state has a lot of potential for internal conflict, with the greatest dividing lines being between immigrants from North America and Europe and immigrants from the Middle East and Africa on one hand, and between Orthodox and secular Israelis on the other.
One way to keep them away from one another's throats is to have a common enemy. But it's an extremely risky approach, because unlike the Palestinians, who are relatively weak and disorganized and capable of inflicting only sporadic damage, Iran is a large, populous, ethnically unified nation with a 4,000-year history. (They fought the ancient Greeks and conquered the ancient states of Israel and Judea during Biblical times). Not only could they inflict some real damage on Israel but a "preventive" attack on Iran would provoke all the other Islamic nations in the area, especially those with Shiite populations.
The only smart thing for Obama to do would be to tell Netanyahu through back channels: "If you're dumb enough to pick a fight with Iran, you're on your own, Bud."
If Netanyahu thinks he has America's unconditional support, there's no telling what he'll do.