theastralcity:

It has become clear as of late that some nation is fighting a clandestine war against Iran to stop them from building nuclear weapons.  Regardless of whom is actually carrying out the attacks inside Iran, be it us, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey or a combination of nations, I believe that this is the beginning of the true post-Iraq period of warfare.

What I am most curious to see is where things will go from here.  Someone is killing Iranian nuclear scientists, the US is conducting spy flights over Iran, and in turn Iran is laughably threatening to engage the US Navy and attempt to close the Straits of Hormuz.  They never, ever, could of course, but it’s still a threat.

This year is going to be quite telling with the whole Iranian mess, are they all bluster, a North Korea clone where they talk big, but only ever lob off a few tests and shoot when they want attention?  Are they going to follow the Libyan route, being a thorn in the side of the West for years until they eventually succumb to internal revolution? Or are they truly something new and unpredictable to the international stage?

At this point even China and Russia, the traditional protectors of Iran to the United Nations Security Council, are stepping far back from their previous positions, but at the same time nobody in NATO has the stomach for another war.  It’s all very precarious, yet everyone is dragging their feet for some reason towards any kind of resolution.

2012 is already proving quite fascinating.