Iran: A Bridge too Far?

[Mazer]

Originally Posted by theknife

it's more plausible that Iran's leaders are not as stupid as our leaders and are not going to start a war they cannot possibly win. why would they?

In their minds the Iranian Revolution of 1979 continues to this day. That many of them call it the Muslim Revolution is telling: they think their Shi'a version of Islam will one day be the only version in existence and that it will spread to all corners of the world. To achieve that ambition they must first eliminate Sunni Islam by killing or subjugating all of its Arab adherents. They've wanted to do it for centuries, and the sectarian violence in Iraq is proof. For now they're content to fight their little jihad by covertly sending soldiers and materiel (read: terrorists and IED's) over their border to Iraq and Syria, and from there on to Lebanon and Israel. The point is they have already started a war they cannot possibly win, at least not the way they're fighting it now, and once they realize it their efforts will escalate.

You can call it stupid, but for them carrying out God's will is not an intellectual choice.