Taking The Iranian Nuclear Threat Seriously*

*Image courtesy of AP Images.

American interests in the Middle East can be protected from a nuclear Iran by a "defense umbrella," according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Come again?

Clinton's second hasty try, as cited in the article above, does deny any sort of "nuclear umbrella" to shield presumed protectorate countries from Iranian aggression. Yet as so many have noted of this sloppy remark--and she knows better as a vetted veteran of high-powered political maneuvering--the suggestion is that America will actually permit the development of such a pernicious danger towards vital friends like Israel.

Thankfully, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates appear to agree that this threat will not be tolerated ad infinitum--and perhaps of greater importance, that all deterrence options remain viable for just such a threat. To be sure, Israel will need these options as experience has shown that dictators tend to force the international community beyond all reasonable limits in the misguided pursuit of world-stage influence and irrational, nationalistic pride.

But allowing such sobering hypothetical scenarios, the question remaining can only be one of tolerance. With the middling support President Obama and others have shown Israel since his infamous Cairo speech, Iran will undoubtedly be given an unreasonably long tether to strain against. And this is unpleasant news indeed for those aware of the real dangers posed to Israel and other American allies in the Middle East.

Perhaps President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton will put aside their shared pursuit of legacy and popular image long enough to address some of the more challenging issues facing America at present. Doubtful, but one can always hope.

IN OTHER NEWS: It appears that Thomas Daniel--the independent investigator persistently lobbing obnoxious ethics complaints at Sarah Palin--is in fact a major contributor to the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, it seems no one noted his faithful personal contributions to this institution, or that peers in his law firm frequently serve as counsel of record for the party on the left, or that several lawyers he makes a living with recently represented President Obama in his bid for this country's highest office.

Minor details, we must suppose, when one is bent on the character assassination of perhaps one of the strongest threats to liberal ideology to come out of the Republican ranks in several years.