Things continue to escalate in regard to the Iranian nuke sitaution. Israel is likely to take the same approach it did with Iraq in 1981 and take the program out in its early stages.

As a last resort, they said, Israel itself would act unilaterally to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear arms.

Iran will not be deterred "by anything short of a threat of force," said Arieh Eldad, a member of Israel's right-wing National Union Party, part of a delegation of Knesset members visiting Washington this week.

"They won't be stopped unless they are convinced their programs will be destroyed if they continue," he said.

Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said the best hope was for the United States and other major powers to make it clear to Iranian leaders now there was "no chance they will ever see the fruits of a nuclear program."

Not that this article qualifies as crazy... But anytime a MemeStreamer links The Washington Times, a certain element of craziness must always be acknowledged. Let me take it a step farther, add my own flavor of craziness, and invoke my favorite tongue-in-cheek topic, The Conspiracy. I can out-crazy Moon, I assure you. I'm not going to predict the end of the world, I'm gonna bring it to you! I've been practicing! And someday, I'll get it right.. Just you watch.

So what's The Conspiracy doing about this situation? Lets theorize, since that's all you can do in regard to The Conspiracy..

One of the biggest problems regarding The West in the Middle-East is that the interests of The West are inseparable from the interests of Israel in the eyes of the mystical Arab Street. We see the situation in Iraq (and Afghanistan) and the situation in Palestine as separate problems. The Arab Street sees them as the same issue. The inability to separate these issues is a major problem that kills any reasonable effort to empathize by either side. When tackled directly, all discourse breaks down into a screaming match. The only answer may be to put some ground between the US and Israel in the form of a very open dispute.

I see a way some world theatre can be played, to a positive effect. Hence, I invoke The Conspiracy. Yes, I know this means I can no longer be taken seriously.. Let's play the speculation game, and go on a journey of what-if's..

Goal #1: Separate US and Israeli interests and conflicts in the eyes of the Arab Street.
Goal #2: Take out Iran's nuke program, specifically the ability to generate fuel.
Goal #3: Put the US in a better position to play broker in the Israel/Palistine conflict.
Goal #4: Weaken fundamentalist ideology.
Goal #5: Create a situation for the global news media to chomp on that can be used to re-frame the issues.

How ironic would this be?

The US and Israel get in a public dispute about the proper way to handle Iran. After a few months of debate and no action, Israel attacks Iran and takes out their nuclear research sites. The US condemns them for acting unilaterally, and starts to distance itself. Things immediately heat up in the West Bank, and the US starts making statements supporting the Palestinians. Right around this time, the Iraqi security forces are becoming mature enough to take the lead in securing the country. US troop withdrawals begin, abet slowly. A similar situation appears present in Afghanistan, even if in reality its not. Segments of the mythical Arab Street start to side with the US, simply because we appear to be supporting their interests and giving into their will. The news media talks of a growing rift between Israel and the US. The discussion on the Arab Street, driven by the media, starts to become all US vs. Israel centric, shifting away from US & Israel vs. Arabia. Iraq and Iran start to look alike in numerous ways, only Iraq considers itself allies with the US, and has what's starting to look like a strong growing economy.

Behind closed doors, the US and Israel are still strong allies. But if you turn on the TV, they appear to be distancing from each other. The resolution of the Palestine issue is getting all the focus. The fundamentalists are having trouble gaining any traction, because the US is leading the charge on what is normally their issue. Talk of the US invading Syria, a stronghold of the fundamentalists, is starting to circulate. All the fundamentalists flock there.

Meanwhile over in Iran, the student movement continues to grow, driven by dissatisfaction of its leaderships ability to address any critical domestic issues. Images of a rebuilding Iraq are pounded over the Iranian and Syrian borders. Economics start to become the central issue, destroying the image of a rebirth of the Caliphate, as Islamic laws pertaining to Riba are incompatible with a healthy market based economy. New interpretations of Islamic law pertaining to economics and business ethics start to emerge from booming economic centers like Qatar and Bahrain. The focus isn't a separation of church and state, but rather a separation of church and bank. Saudi Arabia jumps on the bandwagon, as it sees peak oil coming, is seeing itself become slowly marginalized in Arab politics, and wants to be a power-broker in an increasingly globalized Arabian economy.

The Palestine situation continues to appear impossible to resolve, as Palestinian interests shift to a "one state solution", the only way they can envision achieving their "right of return". Numerous terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv are tracked back to organizations based in Syria, which is also viewed as an al-Qaeda base of operations by the US. The situation seriously heats up when attacks within Saudi Arabia against the royal family are tracked back to Syria based groups.

So, is this crazy talk?

Update: Reading this back over, I see many flaws in my argument. However, I wrote this mainly to work out some thoughts. I was not successful. The key thing here, is that we need to figure out a way to separate the Israel/Palastine issue from the Iraq/US issue, and the other issues which are viewed in the same light by the Arabs. I can't come up with any way to do that which does not involve playing theatre with Israel..

Israelis urge U.S. to stop Iran's nuke goals - The Washington Times