Jeffrey Goldberg, who writes for Bloomberg and the Atlantic, was stunned by the optimism he heard from senior Israelis about the consequences of an attack. To sum up his findings, top Israelis including (apparently) the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, have reached the following conclusions about the consequences of an attack:o If it acts soon, Israel has the capacity to set the Iranian nuclear program back by five years.
o There is a significant probability that a successful attack on Iran will energize Iran's internal opposition, leading ultimately to the downfall or at least the crippling of the Iranian government.
o President B.O. will not retaliate against Israel.
o Rather than launch massive retaliation against Israel, Iran will try to downplay the assault (as Syria and Iraq did in the past), perhaps launching only a few token missiles in response.
o Fearing massive retaliation, Iran would not attack American ships or targets in response.