Israel and Iran - Will we see air strikes soon?

In that case I think it won't happen. It's probably just another bit of international terrorism from the US.

The Obama administration has basically said that they have no intention of stopping any Israeli plans. Netanyahu is off the leash. That's probably not a good thing.

mat quick question how old are the avg. recruits in Israel and do you have real rank or
are you some kind of auxiliary for a regular army?

Im a bit of a jar-head sorry.

To be fair to myself I said that I doubt Israel would act without US approval. Which is what you're saying. Unless I have misunderstood and you're backing what I'm saying?

Thing is, I don't feel that, at least initially, the US will get involved. Just have that vibe. Be safe broseph.

Quick question Matt: would you be in favor in a US diplomatic intervention to avoid war, or would you prefer that Israel's government sort it out? Also, stay safe, if we loose too many Jews on this forum, we'll be branded as anti-all things awesome.

I did a year and a half as line jockey recon, worked my way to Rav samal. Not sure what the American equivalent would be. I think it translates to high sergeant? Anyway, I placed into the Sayaret, first into the Palsar Givati, and then into the Matkal.

Netanyahu needs NATO approval to defend himself in international eyes. He would be a fool to act without it. So, yes, I'm agreeing with you.

I'm inclined to agree with you. I think America might sideline this one.

I would rather America not get involved. I don't think them stepping in will calm tensions, but it might incite them to go to war as well. It's entirely possible that this might not escalate into a total war, and Israel might just dominate the air and sea, and force Iran into submission. We can pull that off. If it does come to boots on the ground though, Americans will only make it more of a mess. I think this a fight Israel needs to have alone.

You still have me, the site's status as containing awesomeness is safe. But yeah, stay safe Matt, should it come to that.

NATO has international credibility?

I presume you mean that if they did have a fight they should do it alone and that you're against an attack.

Call it what you will, but it's leverage. It's Netanyahu playing politics. I don't like that we have to rely on NATO to protect us from anything, but, y'know. The world spins as it spins.

I really, really, really don't want to open this can of worms, but if Israel insists, we need to shoulder the burden. Besides, if America get's involved, shit's going to blow up on a whole new level. It's one thing when there's a war between two regional powers, but it's a whole different thing when a superpower get's involved. It would just make things worse. Of course, I would rather see no attacks, but popular sentiment is for them. I don't think my say is going to stop anything. I've even seen a good amount of Palestinians for it, which is interesting, to say the least.

You worried that some other Arab countries might jump on the bandwagon? I know that their relations with Iran haven't been terribly good as of late (that's my impression), but they're not terribly fond of Israel.

Also, if the shit does go down, you can call in an elite force of socially awkward commandos. And if that doesn't work you could always call the forum in on Iran. Maybe we could perma-ban them. ;-)

On the other side are Arabs in general.

Not particularly. The nations that could possibly support them, or have reason too are both in deep shit right now. Assad is busy trying to end a revolution with tanks, and the Hezbollah militants are trying rebuild their crumbling organization by making a quasi-credible political wing that isn't composed of talking heads.

The IAF is the only social awkward people we need bumbling around on the battlefield. Must suck to be part of the only wing that never gets any action.

There's no questioning that they won't like the idea of increased Israeli hegemony in the area, but there isn't much the government can do about that.

Eh? For starters they could abide by international law and stop warmongering. That'd help.

Considering that Israel has only been the agressor once, in '73, I wouldn't say warmongering. Break international law? Yeah, but I've given up on any sort of radical policy change regarding Palestinians as long as the Likud is power.

I was trying to talk about the present. But you could (and should) say that the Gaza War was warmongering.

Well, it isn't warmongering until you actually pull the trigger. Everything is just speculation. That speculation is just more fuel for the anti-Israel circles in various Arab communities though, which is a bad thing. Either way, we can't change the Arabs predisposition towards us, and I doubt they will ever have a positive opinion of us as long as we exist in our current form.

And no, I don't consider the Gaza War as warmongering. I do think it was a overblown response, but they were certainly the aggressors. They fired the first shot, or missile, if you will, and it was all dominoes from there.

Do you remember UNSC resolution 1860 Matt?

What did you think of it at the time?

I guarantee in the next 6 months Israel will bomb the shit out of the Iranian nuclear facilities. What happens next is anyone's guess. By the way, this is coming from my dad who happens to be a USAF master sergeant, so he knows something of whats possible.