Mideast Conflict Boosts Chances of Iran-US Showdown

Mideast Conflict Boosts Chances of Iran-US Showdown:

The week-old Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is likely to boost the chances of U.S. military action against Iran, according to a number of regional experts who see a broad consensus among the U.S. political elite that the ongoing hostilities are part of a broader offensive being waged by Tehran against Washington across the region.

While Israel-centred neo-conservatives have been the most aggressive in arguing that Hezbollah's Jul. 12 cross-border attack could only have been carried out with Iran's approval, if not encouragement, that view has been largely accepted and echoed by the mainstream media, as well as other key political factions, including liberal internationalists identified with the Democratic Party.

'In my reading, this is the beginning of what was a very similar process in the period, between (the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon) and the Iraq war,' according to Gregory Gause, who teaches Middle East politics at the University of Vermont.

'While neo-cons took the lead in opinion formation then, eventually there was something approaching consensus in the American political class that war with Iraq was a necessary part of remaking the Middle East to prevent future 9/11s,' he said.

'That strong majority opinion was bipartisan �and) crossed ideological lines -- neo-cons supported the war, but so did lots of prominent liberal intellectuals,' he went on. 'I think it is very possible that a similar consensus could develop over the next few years, if not the next few months, about the necessity to confront Iran.'