According to the brilliant tacticians in the White House

Attacking Iran and the resulting firestorm will actually calm down Iraq so democracy and corporate greed can take place. (my bold)

(W Joseph Stroupe is author of the new book entitled Russian Rubicon: Impending Checkmate of the West and editor of Global Events Magazine online at www.GeoStrategyMap.com.)

Kuwaiti media reports in the Arab Times on January 14, written by the Times' editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Jarallah and based on a "reliable source", relay that the US/British naval buildup underway in and around the Persian Gulf is designed, not merely to "send Iran a signal", but to put in place all assets necessary for a massive air strike on Iran, likely by April.

And according to reports from the Chinese news agency Xinhua, the US and Britain "believe that attacking Iran will create a new power balance in the region, calming down the situation in Iraq and paving the way for their democratic project".

Obviously, the US and Britain wish to roll back Iran's regional advances and restore the rough balance of power that existed between Iran and the region's Sunni regimes prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The West has had no success in using United Nations sanctions and diplomatic/political means to contain or constrain Iran. Therefore, the military options are rapidly coming to the fore. The US hopes to insulate the oil-rich Sunni regimes from Iranian missile retaliation by putting in place Patriot anti-missile batteries. And US and British ships will be used to keep Iran from stopping the flow of oil through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

One has to ask, though: are their preparations, plans and strategies any better than the ones they put in place in 2003 before they invaded Iraq? Is it possible that an attack on Iran could become the great equalizer, restoring the balance of power in the region? Or will the US and Britain achieve an early but short-lived victory over Iran, only to massively lose the longer war, just as happened in Iraq?

The conclusion:

By unintentionally shoving the entire oil-and-gas-rich Middle East on to a fast track to chaos, the US will empower Russia as the immovable global energy kingpin. Already, Europe and Asia are being forced to reconsider placing too much reliance on the region for energy imports, opening the way for Russia.

Africa and Latin America come a distant second for the simple reasons of their strategic instability and long distances to their resources, respectively.

Also, Iran is on good terms with Russia and China, and the three powers could form a global energy axis that is distinctly opposed to US power.

Update:

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) tells the New York Times the Bush administration is “building a case against Tehran even as American intelligence agencies still know little about either Iran’s internal dynamics or its intentions in the Middle East.