This Will Work Out Swell

The Iran debate continues. Let's see:

We're warning Israel not to strike Iran to prevent Iran from going nuclear any time soon.

We're worried that Iran will strike back at us--perhaps even at home with terrorism--if Israel strikes Iran.

We're so worried about Iran's reaction that we are publicly saying we won't attack Iran any time soon because it is a bad idea.

Increasingly the administration seems to be taking the position that we can deter Iran if they get nukes rather than run the risk of a wider war by striking Iran's nuclear program.

So notwithstanding our confidence that we can deter a nuclear Iran in the future, right now we don't think we can deter a non-nuclear Iran from striking at our forces or allies in the Persian Gulf region if someone else attacks Iran.

That's so nuanced, I think I pulled a muscle trying to follow it.