Today's forecast: You're fucked

Damn Iran. With Russia buying up as much of Europe's natural gas distributors as it can, it's got the power to put the power pinch on the EU if a conflict does arise with Iran. They won't be able to support us too much if Russia shuts off their means of producing electricity. We do have the advantage of having troops close at hand, so Iran would be dumb and desperate if they hit Israel. The big question to arise in my mind is, how would the other countries in the area react to Iran's wholesale bombing/gassing/nuking (if they can) of Iraq in an attempt to hit our troops? I'm not fully up on the Shi'ite/Sunni split outside Iraq, but I know Iran is primarily Shi'ite, and I think Saudi Arabia is Sunni. I could be wrong, there, but whether I am or not, I wonder how much that difference would play in how or even if the other nations would care. Because our news media is so focused on insurgent action in Iraq, how many troops have been killed there and Afghanistan, and random terrorist bombings elsewhere, it's hard for me to tell what the national and governmental opinions on that matter are. Sure, we know everyone hates America's involvement in Iraq, but we don't know how people feel about the risk of Sunni vs. Shi'ite civil war in that nation, and that further confuses the matter of support in a potential conflict between Iran and the U.S (not Iran and the West for the reasons mentioned above).

Yeah, that's a hard read, and not just because there's no paragraphs and ample run on sentences. I'm just brainstorming until it's time to go home....

Sorry.

Ooh, here's a thought. How ironic would it be if Europe did support us despite Russia's shutting off the natural gas, just to prove that they could pull some crazy running on solar/wind power shit and pumping out craziness like WWII industrial America did, for the sole purpose of shutting our mouths about saving the world during that conflict?

And another thought. Would Russia shut off natural gas to Europe? That's a BIG fucking chunk of money they'd lose. Personally, I think our best bet would be to do a series of swift strikes during the winter, that way Russia has to decide, shut off power to prove a point or keep it on, make cash, and feed its people. Of course, they could be stockpiling food now, and I don't know what China's potential for food exporting is. It's entirely possible that China can afford to feed Russia while Russia denies Europe the natural gas it needs so that Europe has little choice but to deny America any tactial support in an attempt to bomb Iran's production sites. Quite the tasty love triangle, isn't it?