On Tue, 9 Jun 2009, Chris Doss wrote:
>> 1. Israel would have to send bombers across Iraqi airspace, which is
>> controlled by the US.
>>
> With respect to 1, there is no way the US is going to shoot down Israeli
> planes (and I don't think the Iraqis have the capacity to do so). That's
> not participation; that's your bluff being called.
They wouldn't be afraid of getting shot down in that scenario. They would be afraid of completely destroying their special relationship with the US. It's almost impossible to imagine. But doing that, against our express orders, might just turn the trick. It's a small but real possibility of an outcome which should be too terrible for them to imagine.
Michael