FLASHPOINTS: Iranian Detente, Collapse of Libya, Syrian Fragmentation
Is the US willing to cut any deal with Iran just to have a deal, as some of America’s Mideast allies are saying? In his latest FLASHPOINTS analysis Colonel (ret) John Antal identifies the issues surrounding Iranian détente as the greatest threat to American security in mid-November. (Earlier this month he ranked Iran’s nuclear program as the Number 2 threat.) In his November 18, 2013, analysis, he ranks the collapse of Libya and the fragmentation of Syria respectively as the second and third greatest threats.
Click here to download the pdf from Armchair General‘s FLASHPOINTS page.
John Antal has frequently authored articles for Armchair General, including “Wars Without End: the Challenge of ‘Arab Spring'” and “Flashpoint Gaza Analysis.” He has authored or co-authored numerous books. His latest is 7 Leadership Lessons of the American Revolution: The Founding Fathers, Liberty, and the Struggle for Independence. Read Armchair General‘s exclusive interview, “7 Questions for John Antal on ‘7 Leadership Lessons of the American Revolution.’“
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There is one aspect of Col. Antal’s Libyan analysis that did not make sense to me. A Delta Force went in and captured and important al-Queda leader. Later in the analysis, Antal states “The U.S. capture of the terrorist Abu Anas al-Libi from Tripoli reinforced how Libya’s chaos is making it easier for al-Qaeda operatives to find safe haven there.” This statement does not make sense. The fact that we were able to send a small force in and successfully capture this operative would seem to indicate that Libyan is not a ‘safe haven’ at all. And I certainly don’t see how this capture ‘reinforces’ the idea of Libya as a safe haven. It would seem to indicate the exact opposite. While I don’t always agree with them, I always find the analyses of Antal and Ralph Peters interesting and enlightening.