Are we paying enough attention to Iran's nuclear drive?
When Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad invaded Israel on Oct.7, they didn’t just perpetrate the most deadly attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The Iran-trained and supported terrorists also helped divert the world’s attention away from how Iran is quietly, but quickly, marching towards nuclear breakout. In February, top Biden Administration official Colin Kahl, the then-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, admitted that Iran could soon assemble a crude nuclear device in days.
I'm not the only one worried, it seems, that Iran is sacrificing Hamas for a bigger objective:
What if my view of an enrichment red herring is just a tiny fish in Iran's plan? The red herring to hide the real red herring? I keep saying we are fools to mistake fanaticism for stupidity. What if this is a "go big or go home" moment for Iran. Hell, maybe Hamas leadership is willingly letting Hamas be sacrificed for the greater goal the jihadis pine for.
God help us all, maybe Iran doesn't need a new deal no matter how good it is for Iran. Perhaps Iran now needs weeks or months of chaos to fatally distract Israel--with the most incentive to strike Iran--and America--with the most capability--away from Iran's last dash to putting nuclear missiles in its arsenal?
I now think Iran was surprised by Hamas, too. So I no longer worry Iran ordered Hamas to invade Israel to start this diversion of attention to shield Iran's last 100 yards in its nuclear drive. But that could be one of the effects.
Have a super sparkly day.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.
