Consequences ...

So all you folks who think it would be a nifty idea to open another theater of war in the Middle East, some consequences for you to consider:

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The more thoughtful military and civilian advisers can rattle off a dozen reasons why an American attack on Iran at this juncture would be foolish in the extreme and risk setting the Middle East afire, including:

Shutting down not only Iran's oil production but Iraq's as well, and possibly triggering Iranian retaliation against the oil production and shipping in Persian Gulf nations. Are we ready for $300-a-barrel oil?

Putting 160,000 U.S. troops and another 125,000 U.S. and foreign contractors in Iraq at much greater risk, as neighboring Iran signals Shiite allies there to begin all-out war against us and sends in its own well-armed guerrillas to lead the attack. Our 250-mile main supply lines in Iraq run through the heart of Shiite-controlled southern Iraq, and they would be cut. If we think we have troubles now with the shaky Iraq national government, which already has snuggled up to Tehran, what would war with Iran bring?

Risking confrontation with the newly oil-rich and energized Russian Federation and President Bush's ex-KGB soulmate, Vladimir Putin. Putin has his hand on the natural gas and oil pipelines that keep our presumed allies in Europe from freezing to death, so it is wise to assume that any support for a U.S. attack on his ally Iran would be slim to none.

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We can't afford it; in whatever currency you want to measure, economic, military, or political, we're at the end of our rope. The invasion of Iran would put us over the top.