Here's a Happy Yuletide Topic

I know that none of the participants here are Christian, but still this does not exactly scream "Peace on Earth" (H/T Instapundit):

If a nuclear war between Israel and Iran were to break out 16-20 million Iranians would lose their lives - as opposed to 200,000-800,000 Israelis, according to a report recently published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which is headed by Anthony H. Cordesman, formerly an analyst for the US Department of Defense. The document, which is largely theoretical due to the lack of verified knowledge in some areas - specifically in terms of Israel's nuclear capability - paints various scenarios and attempts to predict the strategies of regional powers, as well as the US.

The report assesses that a nuclear war would last approximately three weeks and ultimately end with the annihilation of Iran, due to Israel's alleged possession of weapons with a far larger yield. Israel, according to the assessment, would have a larger chance of survival. The report does not attempt to predict how many deaths would eventually be caused by possible nuclear fallout.

Even if Iran gained the means and knowledge to create nuclear weapons, according to the report it would still be limited to 100 kiloton weapons, which can cause a far smaller radius of destruction than the 1 megaton bombs Israel allegedly possesses.

What's ultimately disturbing to me about this scenario actually goes beyond the horrific casualty rates. It's the fact that ration of losing about 80 Iranian civilians for every Israeli citizen killed probably would not be a deterrent effect for the Iranian regime, much in the same way that I doubt a nuclear North Korea would be deterred from the slaughter of its population in using nuclear weapons on South Korea or Japan.

The only thing going for the good guys in keeping the Iranians in check right now are the Russians, and I'm not exactly pinning my hopes on Team Putin to do the right thing these days....

An Abscess on the Peace Process

It's going to be difficult enough to conduct Middle East Peace talks in any setting, given the individuals, the personalities, and the interests on all sides when they come to the table.

So why in the world does it make sense that a Governor who can't even keep his own house in order wants to stick his nose where it does not belong?

Governor O'Malley has been a catastrophic failure in his scant ten months governing this state. His record on domestic issues has been a record of setback after setback, lessening the standard of living here in Maryland. His presence in the middle of the peace process is nothing more than that of an abscess, an unwanted growth that does harm and not good. The State Department should take steps to make sure that O'Malley's record of failure, and his record as someone who goes out of his way to avoid building consensus does not taint an already fragile peace process.