“Iran could claim that the U.S. Air Force took part in the strikes, or at least that it provided logistical support to the waves of Israeli fighter jets. Such involvement, in their thinking, would justify attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and the Gulf region, inviting American retaliation.”
They would be correct. The IAF cannot get anywhere close to Iran without the USA knowing about it. U.S. Navy planes would watch the Israeli jets take off. Those jets would be picked up by AWACS and followed all the way to their targets on radar. They would be US built jets (F-16I) with US built bombs. So they ( Iran) would have a valid argument about US involvement.
That is why I expect the US to do the job ourselves. A B-2 cell would be able to take out all the known targets without the Iranians knowing they were there until the bombs started going off.
As far as Iran responding, it doesn’t matter. NOTHING they could do would be as bad as allowing the Mad Dog Mullahs to have atomic bombs. These guys make the Son Of Sam look rational. Would anyone think giving the Son of Sam a nuke was a good idea?
There is a workable diplomatic option. Just none of the diplos has the ‘nads to do it. Bolton, maybe. IF he was still around. Sanctions are a joke so long as two of the permanent members of the security council choose to flaunt them. So for sanctions to have the slightest chance of working, China and Russia have to be on board.
The easy way to do that is by withdrawing from the NPT. Offer to sell S. Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Poland, Germany and anybody else that wants them nukes. See if the shoe pinches when it’s on the other foot.
Think about it. Right now, the Russians and the Chinese like Iran having nukes, since they aren’t worried about the Mad Dog Mullahs using them on anyone except Israel or the USA. Give them a reason to sweat too and see if that doesn’t change some minds. Putooie won’t be amused about Germany and Poland picking up a hundred or so nukes each. The Chi-Coms will have kittens over Japan getting 150 nukes and the SSBN’s to carry them in.
PRESIDENT Bush can do this his self. All he has to is sign a piece of paper and a year (6 months?) later the USA is out of the NPT. That will give the Russians and the Chinese time to sweet talk Iran.
