From an administration that made its bones arguing that our defense resources are stretched dangerously thin:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Iran Wednesday that the United States would extend a “defense umbrella” over its allies in the Persian Gulf if the Islamic Republic obtains a nuclear weapons capability. Appearing on a Thai TV program, Clinton said the U.S. would also take steps to “upgrade the defense” of America’s Gulf allies in such an event, a reference to stepped-up military aid to those countries.
I wonder what “upgraded defenses” the secretary is talking about. Missile defense technology, which the administration has lambasted as “unproven” and scheduled for heavy budget cuts, or our actual nuclear umbrella — also due for drastic reduction? Most unnerving is that the Obama administration seems prepared for the inevitability of a nuclear Iran, and is already taking steps to mitigate the expected mass destabilization that would result from a successful Iranian atomic test. No wonder the Israelis are worried.
