People have been maintaining an Israeli attack is eminent for two yrs. or more. Too bad we can’t know for sure, we could make a killing buying Dow Jones index puts.
I predicted four years ago that N. Korea would be taken out by now. Ooops.
I think the difference between North Korea and Iran is that North Korea HAS nukes and Iran is trying to get them.
Once a country has nukes and is believed capable of using them, they can’t be attacked. If we were to attack the DPRK, there would be a bloodbath. Hence we can’t attack them no matter how buttheaded they are.
We should do everything possible - including war - to prevent Iran from attaining that same status. And Iran is not only pursuing nuclear warhead capability, but the ballistic missile systems to deliver them wherever they want. If they get nukes, for instance, what would we do if they blocked the Strait of Hormuz? Or initiated terrorist attacks in countries around the world (the US included)? What would we do if they invaded Israel? Or Saudi Arabia? Would we truly risk a nuclear war with a country whose leaders have an eschatological belief that they need to usher in their last imam by spreading chaos and war?
Israel has had its “Sampson option,” which basically means that they will take their enemies with them. But will they allow a psycho country like Iran to get nukes? They’ve been saying, “NO way.” And the only thing that has prevented an attack is the US reassuring them that Iran won’t be allowed to get nukes.
I think they are getting to the point that they don’t believe us anymore. And I don’t think they SHOULD believe us.
North Korea’s “end” is an interesting issue. When Kim Jong Il is truly dying, will he decide to take as much of the world as he can with him? Or, after he’s dead, will the country dissolve into chaos with disputes over leadership? And just how long can a completely dysfunctional country that starves and brutalizes its own people continue?