Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
There is a worst case scenario to this situation which could lead to World War III.

This is because of all the factions backing the various players right now.

The US is ready to attack Hezbollah, if they attempt to go after Israel from the north. If the US obliterates Hezbollah, Iran will probably start some kind of proxy war against Israel. If Israel eventually gets overwhelmed and feels as if they are about to be defeated, they will use their nukes. This, in turn, could cause China and Russia to get involved (who are on Iran's side), who could then retaliate with nukes against Israel.

What would the US do in such a situation? Would we use our own nukes, or allow Israel to get obliterated?

This isn't as far fetched a scenario as you might think.

"Peace through strength" especially applies in this situation. Israel cannot project weakness or vulnerability. They need to fairly quickly destroy Hamas, and then basically stand tall and basically dare Hezbollah to start any shit, even if the prospect of that happening legitimately scares them.

There are many in the region who have been waiting for the perfect moment of weakness to obliterate Israel and all the Jews there. Israel only continues to exist through its military power and, secondarily, western support. If their neighbors sense they are vulnerable, not only will the expected enemies attack, but their present "friendly" neighbors might also turn on them.

A cease fire would be the worst thing they could do right now -- both short term and long term.
Hamas knew what would happen when they carried out their attacks. They must've known it would spread to a much wider conflict. It was part of the calculation. To answer your question about what the U.S. would do is simple: We will protect Israel. So too will France, Germany, Great Britan and many others.

edit - I wonder just how capable a fighting force we have and whether or not those of the age to serve are actually up to the fight. Time will tell. The country has been vilifying the military as part of the far-left agenda. Young people are highly discouraged from serving in our far left schools and universities. In a WWIII situation we cannot win without the younger generation joining the fight and since we can see much of the younger generation has sided with terrorists its harder to predict.