Comment about moderation removed.

Personal agendas play a great role in the regions politics.

I don't see the US getting involved in Zimbabwe and it's dictatorship but then Zim is not a major oil supplier.

Certain countries in the Middle East play a major role in US policy re Iran.

The main deciding factor for the US in foreign policy decisions is to protect US interests overseas. The US does have interests in the Middle East and it has had for a very long time. The US is very near reaching energy independence and the oil from the ME largely flows to Asia and I would assume Europe.

What interest does or did the US have in Zimbabwe? I believe virtually none.

Iran poses a possible threat to a NATO ally, Turkey. Iran also makes the Saudi gov't quite nervous and when the Saudi's are nervous the US is nervous.

The thread, as I understand it, is about Iran's nuclear ambitions and I believe that it is the UN that is in charge of monitoring the situation.

Nuclear weapons are by and large a waste of time to develop. There was a time when they were important, but now, with satellites and other technology, we can precisely target areas that we want to bomb. At the time it was developed we could only guess at what we wanted to destroy, so destroying a massive area was one way to do it. That is no longer the case.

Nuclear weapons are by and large a waste of time to develop. There was a time when they were important, but now, with satellites and other technology, we can precisely target areas that we want to bomb. At the time it was developed we could only guess at what we wanted to destroy, so destroying a massive area was one way to do it. That is no longer the case.

unfortunately that's not true,

Nuclear weapons are there as a deterrent ,the threat of overwhelming damage deters powers fro initiating aggression.How long do you think the regime in north Korea would have lasted with our the possession of nuclear weapons?

It's very true. Nuclear weapons are scary, but they aren't necessary. Do you think most of NK's arsenal can't be taken out relatively easily? If they launched a few, it is certainly not the US that would be in danger of being hit, but the neighboring countries could be.

Iran may want one and they are very close to some rather interesting targets. Not necessary, but quite scary.

It isn't just America that is extremely nervous about what Iran would do if it managed to get a nuclear weapon, and rightly so.

Iran is run by crafty religious zealots who send people around the world bombing where they see fit.

Has everyone forgotten the Bangkok bombers already?

Despite what is characterized as substantive progress in talks between Iran, the United States, and the European Union on Iran’s nuclear program……..

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have ordered the army to continue preparing for a possible military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities at a cost of at least 10 billion shekels ($2.89 billion) this year, despite the talks between Iran and the West, according to recent statements by senior military officers.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.580701

Despite what is characterized as substantive progress in talks between Iran, the United States, and the European Union on Iran’s nuclear program……..

"Characterized".