Iran Cancels Gaza Ship
On June - 27 - 2010
Shortly after the Israeli raid on the Turkish-IHH flotilla, Iran announced that the Revolutionary Guards would escort a ship of their own to Gaza, refusing to be outdone by Erdogan. But, the Israelis wouldn’t back down and called the Iranians’ bluff–and now Iran isn’t sending the ship after Israel said it would be considered an act of war.
Michael Ledeen comments that this proves that fear works with Iran. And based on this, he rightly asks, how would Iran react if the U.S. said it would immediately respond to Iranian support of militants in Iraq and Afghanistan? When we act tough, they become weak. When we act weak, they become strong.
joe six-pack Says:
Osama himself said it: “They will back the stronger horse.” Perception is important here in that if the U.S. appears weak, we will lose support in the region. If we appear strong, we gain support. Of course, action has to be effective (Or ineffective) for this perception to be maintained.
Posted on June 28th, 2010 at 7:12 am