I say the USAF will be painting the Star of David on their jets for the operation.

For what it’s worth, an Israeli friend predicts exactly the opposite. His argument is almost stereotypically Israeli–that the Americans have to take credit for geopolitical reasons, but understand that only Israel has pilots skilled enough to do the job. Somehow, I find the first part of his reasoning more persuasive than the second.

Unfortunately, the situation has gotten more problematic of late. First, the much publicized threat to hold off on oil exports has panicked some governments, including the Russian government. Russia’s veto power on the UN Security Council makes it necessary to have some blessing from them before carrying out proper actions. Second, Iran has dispersed its nuclear enrichment program over 300-500 small sites, making it impossible to wipe out their nuclear program with one air strike.

Perhaps the dispersement of the nuclear enrichment program is only rhetoric, and perhaps by bombing of the Uranium conversion facility in Isfahan will be enough to bring Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to a halt. Or perhaps Russia will realize that they are not isolated from the threat of a nuclear Iran, and will go further than lip service in asking Iran to honor IEAE regulations. But I fear that it’s a different world then in 1981 when we halted Iraq’s nuclear dreams, and stopping Iran will be much more challenging.

This morning my optimismeter is on the rise regarding the likelihood that we may actually be preparing to do something about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Being willing and able are still questions, but at least IÂ’m confident that lots of smart…