U.S. Politicians Acquiesce to an Israeli Attack on Iran

Silence is acquiescence. It is why Israel will go after Iran. If you say nothing to discourage aggression from the Jewish state they will feel no need to hold back. But towing the line by the U.S. vis-a-vis Israel is more important than subsequent skyrocketing oil prices or World War III:

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said that Israel is justified in providing for its security amid the "extraordinary threat" posed to it by Iran.

He spoke after The New York Times quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying that Israel had carried out a large military exercise this month that appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

U.S. politicians are remaining silent on any potential attack but not the UN:

A military strike on Iran would turn the Middle East "into a ball of fire," said Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency.

[...] "In my opinion, any military strike -- as I mentioned -- is the worst thing that can happen now," said ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"It will make the Middle East turn into a ball of fire. It is a lot worse than having sanctions. A military strike will lead Iran, even if it plans today to manufacture a nuclear weapon, to establish a crash course to speed the process to have the weapon with the blessing of all Iranians, even those living in the West."

And it isn't just U.S. politicians that genuflect before Israel. Even the French now pander. Sarkozy is unpopular just like Bush. He could provoke a backlash within France from a relatively large Muslim population that has been politically vocal:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy flies to Israel on Sunday for a three-day visit aimed at reinforcing his image as an ally of the Jewish state and reversing a trend of difficult trips there by French leaders.

There is a potential problem for an Israeli military action. They lack the military resources to destroy Iran's nuclear program. This is why they hoped the U.S. would do it. Bush would like to but it would mean his impeachment. Is crazy enough:

Israel has spent years training for a possible bombing run against Iranian nuclear sites, but its air force may be too small to finish the job alone, officials and independent experts said yesterday.

Officials, who declined to be identified given the censorship around Israel's strategic capabilities, said the air force would be unlikely to deliver more than a one-time blow to the Iranian nuclear program, which international experts believe may require as many as 1,000 strikes to be destroyed.