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Originally Posted by Ray
The Iranian nuclear activity or expansion would have been observed and of the there can be no second opinion.
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Nope, it appears you missed the whole HUMINT vs ELINT argument a decade ago. Anyone with half a brain can conduct operations and avoid satellites.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray
It is also a truism that the US would be sensitive to an unstable ME owing to the US dependency on oil.
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The US is not so much dependent on oil as it is dependent on that oil being sold in US$ and being under free market operations.
The US does not want exactly what is happening now, which is countries selling oil in Yen, Rubles, Euros or Yuan, and countries like China negotiating "first service" contracts with Saudi Arabia.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray
Therefore, there would have been contingency planning since that would be natural for any country to do.
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Contingency plans for Iran have existed since 1978. Those who were training then aren't impressed.