Pulling The Curtain Back

Wretchard has a fretful post up at his Belmont Club blog concerning the question; "What to do about Iran?". There seems to be a wide-spread belief that the Bush Administration intends to commence - something - against the Iranians beginning September 11 or there abouts. Not an actual invasion apparently - though maybe - but possibly some sort of military effort, but most likely a concerted effort to verbally attack Iranian actions within the region as a build up to something more later.

The big fear, apparently, is that Iran is a force to be reckoned with that can't be ignored but not discussed as a military option either.

Piffle.

Iran ceases to be any sort of "player" after, at most, a week spent on the receiving end of limited American air power attention, said attention being paid specifically to the following:

1) all Iranian non-oil related maritime facilities.
2) all Iranian highway infrastructure outside of built up areas.
3) all Iranian electrical generating and distribution facilities, regardless of location.
4) all Iranian communication nodes; military wherever they are identified, as well as civil - cell phone towers, telephone lines, etc - outside of built up areas.
5) all Iranian aviation facilities wherever located within the country.

Along about D+5 American Navy and Air Force target assigners are going to find themselves assigning follow-up attacks only, as they will have essentially run out of previously unattacked targets of any strategic significance, anywhere within the borders of Iran. Wherein, it seems worth noting, all commerce of any description (barring armed robbery, I suppose) will also have ceased to transact.

Effectively simultaneous with that point in time, the Iranian national government will no longer possess the means to influence events anywhere beyond the direct line-of-sight of any given government official. {Nor, it bears mentioning, the means to pay for anything either. Government kleptocrats may possess off-shore bank accounts, but government's themselves do not.} And then, only for so long as said official can maintain tactical superiority over those who, as all shooters ought to know, can also see him in return.

Should President Bush elect to exercise his War Power's authority this coming Tuesday, citing any number of Iranian actions as cassus belli, then before the month is out the United States, no doubt with the very visible support of our Iraqi ally, will find itself at the very forefront of delivering humanitarian aid to the Iranian people without regard to the Iranian government's desires on the matter.

Meanwhile, the rest of the war effort can continue apace with a good deal less capability available to the enemy.

No offense to Wretchard or those others similarly spooked, but I do remain available to look under the bed for you should that be an issue as well.

Booga-Booga! Sorry, that will have to do; I'm utter crap at shadow puppets.