Panetta, citing conversations with his "Israeli friends," said an attack would only set back Iran's nuclear program by one to two years at best. He also warned about blowback to U.S. forces in the region.
"The United States would obviously be blamed and we could possibly be the target of retaliation from Iran, striking our ships, striking our military bases," Panetta told a forum in Washington on Friday.
So let me get this straight. If we have nothing to do with an Israeli strike, Iran will be irrational enough to drag us (and maybe others) into a war with them.
But if Iran gets nuclear weapons, Iran will be rational enough for us to deter them with our nuclear arsenal.
Huh.
