Bush is very much not a Lameduck

“Bush is very much not a lame duck, because if he wanted to strike, there is nothing legally preventing him from doing so,” said Dr. George Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Forecasting, Inc.

Dr. Friedman says when it really comes down to it there is nothing Congress can do to stop the President from exercising his autonomous power over the US Military, and historically the courts will not intervene either. This leads some to believe President Bush will move to strike Iran sometime before leaving office, but according to Friedman there maybe a few other issues facing Bush. “This is Bush's strategic problem -- the one that shapes his role as commander in chief. He has committed virtually all of his land forces to two wars. His only reserves are the Air Force and Navy. If they were sucked into a war in Iran, it would limit U.S. reserves for other contingencies.” This said there is still considerable reason for Iran to think again about moving forward with any plans for nuclear proliferation, and for them to at least consider the sanctions currently imposed against them in the United Nations. “The United States alone does not get to choose whether there is a crisis with Iran. Iran gets to vote too,” said Friedman in his Geopolitical Analysis. Friedman points out that it may not in fact be the United States which initiates war, but rather the Iranians. Time trudges forward and any weakness perceived by Iran or other enemies of the US will embolden them to strike while they believe the Americans are at their weakest—right of wrong—possibly bringing the fight to the Homeland instead of Iraq.