When nukes showed up in Cuba, our first action wasn’t to bomb the missile sites. Even though doing so would remove the threat, we went with the blockade. Behind the scenes we negotiated with the Soviets to solve the crisis.

It’s hard to imagine any back channel between Israel and Iran and that makes this situation more difficult. Others do the negotiating for them with their own political/economic self-interests at the forefront. Who speaks for the mothers of Israel and Iran? (Don’t laugh, I’m serious)

Some people are treating this like a schoolyard fight, onlookers circled around two kids waiting for the fists to fly. Times have changed. There’s a definite possibility that one of the kids has a 9mm in his backpack and he’s going to kill his opponent and the spectators. The possible consequences of an Israeli strike are not unforeseen.

In 1981, Israel got away with bombing Iraq’s nuclear site- but at a when time Iraq was busy fighting a war with Iran. This time all eyes are on Israel, and Iran suffers no military distraction. It’ll be different.