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Line 31: − − The April 2007 attack on Iran was anything but a surprise. Websites and print media throughout the world, mostly of [[leftist]] orientation, trumpeted the imminent outbreak of war, with some even specifying that it would commence before dawn Iranian time on April 6, 2007. [[Wikipedia]] had reported as early as January 20, 2007 that the attack would come in April (quoting the [[Arab Times]], which reported it on January 18), and that this month was chosen because British [[Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]] would be leaving office that summer, or even as early as May. Ahmedinejad may also have chosen this time to seize British servicemembers in the hope that Blair would, over years or decades, evolve into another critic of Western and [[Israeli]] policy in the [[Middle East]].{{fact}} (See [[Iran Hostage Crisis]].)
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In spite of the relative overstretch of the U. S. [[military]], the utility of an attack on Iran, or at least its nuclear facilities, was a live [[debate]] among American opinion leaders throughout 2006. Objections to such an attack were mostly based upon the belief that this would represent the first step on a [[slippery slope]] to [[occupation]] of Iran, which would probably require [[conscription]] in the United States, a step [[conservatives]] and most military leaders oppose. The debate, however, appeared to have been won decisively by the hawks following the regime's suicidal decision in late March 2007 not to promptly release 15 British sailors and marines it had captured on March 23, 2007.
In spite of the relative overstretch of the U. S. [[military]], the utility of an attack on Iran, or at least its nuclear facilities, was a live [[debate]] among American opinion leaders throughout 2006. Objections to such an attack were mostly based upon the belief that this would represent the first step on a [[slippery slope]] to [[occupation]] of Iran, which would probably require [[conscription]] in the United States, a step [[conservatives]] and most military leaders oppose. The debate, however, appeared to have been won decisively by the hawks following the regime's suicidal decision in late March 2007 not to promptly release 15 British sailors and marines it had captured on March 23, 2007.
==References==
==References==