Rumor Mill In Overdrive: Now US Will Be The One To Bomb Iran

As difficult as it is to believe, considering the perception that Obama will bend over backwards to give negotiations and talks a chance, there are rumors that the US is getting ready to bomb Iran themselves, rather than leave it to Israel.

That may make sense, considering the national mood--which is fed up with Iran:

A majority of Americans are skeptical that diplomacy with Iran will succeed and say the U.S. should use military action if necessary to prevent the Iranian government from developing a nuclear weapon.

A Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey released today found 61 percent of Americans would support a military strike. Twenty-four percent said it is more important to avoid conflict even if that means Iran will end up building nuclear arms.

Of course, if everything Obama does were to be determined by the national mood, then the direction of his economic policies would be very different.

Be that as it may, there is another indication that the US may be considering taking matters into its own hands. According to ABC News, the Pentagon recently sent a funding request to Congress indicating a priority towards building a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound that is capable of reaching targets buried as deep as 200 feet below ground. ABC has also posted a copy of the Pentagon request online.

ABC notes:

This is not the kind of weapon that would be particularly useful in Iraq or Afghanistan, but it is ideally suited to hit deeply buried nuclear facilities such as Natanz or Qom in Iran.

Assuming that the US is considering this and that it can actually pull this off, it would have a number of positive effects--it would

• Put Iran in its place
• Serve as a warning to Syria
• Show that the US is willing to flex its muscles where it sees fit
• Actually curry favor with the Arab world--which views Iran's nuclear plans with suspicion
• Of course it would help out Israel.

And perhaps, by virtue of the fact that both the Arab World and Israel would mutually benefit from such an action by the US--Obama could claim that they owe him a debt, payable by sitting down and talking.

But let's first wait and see what--if anything--Obama is up to.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Obama and Iran.