The Dogs of War

As White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. said in 2002, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." There's been some speculation in the blogosphere this past week that a new, er, product will be rolled out in September. Charles S. Robb, a former Democratic senator from Virginia, and Charles Wald, a retired general, jump the gun.

They're not shy about it, either.

We cannot afford to wait indefinitely to determine the effectiveness of diplomacy and sanctions. Sanctions can be effective only if coupled with open preparation for the military option as a last resort. Indeed, publicly playing down potential military options has weakened our leverage with Tehran, making a peaceful resolution less likely.

Instead, the administration needs to expand its approach and make clear to the Iranian regime and the American people: If diplomatic and economic pressures do not compel Iran to terminate its nuclear program, the U.S. military has the capability and is prepared to launch an effective, targeted strike on Tehran's nuclear and supporting military facilities.

So the baying of the hounds starts, even before August.

I have speculated that President Obama has, let us say, strongly urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to damp this sort of thing down in Israel, where the noise has indeed subsided since the beginning of the year. I would further speculate that this week's visit by Netanyahu was an "attaboy" for following the program. But the Washington Post editorial board seems to have taken it as a green light for war.

Just what we don't need more of.

Update: Joshua Pollack goes into more detail than I did about why bombing Iran won't end its nuclear program. That's been said enough times that I thought I wouldn't, but I guess if the Bomb Iran faction is going to keep repeating, the rest of us will have to.