PETRAEUS: CONTAINMENT OF A NUCLEAR IRAN UNACCEPTABLE EVEN TO ARAB STATES

"Sophisticated" foreign policy analysts agree with Ahmadinejad that a nuclear Iran is a fait accompli and containment is the only viable response to it. It would mean bringing the Middle East, including Israel, under the American nuclear umbrella. Former Secretary of state James Baker advocated just such a policy on Fareed Zakaria GPS a couple of weeks ago.

But when Fareed Zakaria put the question to David Patraeus (a sophisticated Princeton Ph.D. in International Relations), he discovered to his surprise that Arab states are not only unhappy with the prospect of living with a nuclear Iran but may prefer the military option. Here is the pertinent exchange (the italics are mine):

ZAKARIA: Don't you have the beginning of a very robust containment strategy, though, and you would be the one actually who would probably be principally charged with the military operationalization of this. You have the moderate -- the Gulf states, the Sunni states, Egypt, Israel, the major European countries, perhaps even Russia, all arrayed, you know, along this common interest that Iran not -- not become a nuclear power.

Wouldn't it be possible to contain it?

PETRAEUS: Well, I think, first of all, you have to ask a country that is most directly concerned about this, and that would be Israel. And, at the end of the day, what we might want with a slightly detached perspective than the other western countries. What the Gulf states and others might be willing to accept --

And by -- by the way, there is no uniform or universal acceptance of what you had just laid out. In fact, it's quite the contrary in many of the countries, and there's quite a --

Unable to believe his ears Zakaria repeatedly interrupts in the hope of eliciting a Petraeus denial. It does not.

ZAKARIA: Meaning what? They -- they want the United States to strike?

PETRAEUS: Well, there are some that are very, very, very, very concerned about the developments in Iran and they find that very --

(CROSS TALK).

PETRAEUS: -- difficult.

ZAKARIA: What does that mean? They want -- they want the United States to strike?

PETRAEUS: Well, it's interesting. I think there -- there is almost a slight degree of bipolarity there at times. On the one hand, there are countries that would like to see a strike, us or perhaps Israel, even. And then there's the worry that someone will strike, and then there's also the worry that someone will not strike. And, again, reconciling that is -- is one of the challenges of operating in the region right now.

Our job right now is to ensure that we're prepared for any contingencies, that we can support indeed, with the diplomatic efforts, to transition now to the pressure track and so forth. And that's indeed what we're endeavoring to do with our partners who, by the way, find that President Ahmadinejad is often our best recruiting officer, because his actions, his rhetoric and his other -- the other activities of Iran, in many cases, are causing much more embrace of CENTCOM and -- and other activities than otherwise would be the case. (END VIDEOTAPE)

Why? Because those living next to Iran are scared stiff of living next door to the butchers of Tehran. Those who have no qualms about murdering and raping their own daughter cannot be trusted to have mercy on Jewish or Muslim infidels especially if they believe that so doing will bring back the 12th Imam.

Sorry Fareed and fellow"sophisticates!"