Remind voters that the two nations [Iran and Iraq] fought a bloody war in the 1980 s, prompted by Iraqi aggression, and add that Persia is somewhere between three and five times larger than Iraq - depending on whether you’re talking about population or land area - and has far more difficult terrain and a more unified, nationalistic population, and American enthusiasm for fighting an unnecessary "pre-emptive" war there would likely diminish fast.

It's for all of those reasons and more that Hersh's sources appear to have begun a pre-emptive leaking campaign of their own against the neo-conservatives. Threatening Iran with nuclear weapons isn't a sign of strength, but a confession of weakness. As the single greatest strategic beneficiary of the U. S. occupation of Iraq, the Persians have been indulging in foolhardy bluster of their own. The recently elected Ahmadinejad, however, holds office at the sufferance of the ayatollahs, who wield the real power. Although dogmatic and authoritarian, they also have tended to be cautious. Persians want nuclear weapons because Israel and Pakistan already have them; also because they've noticed that nuclear-armed countries don’t get invaded. Above all, they want assurances that won't happen. For now, we must all pray that crackpots in both countries can be restrained. (my emphasis)