I am puzzled by the fuss over that pact with Iran. Do crfitics of the deal really think the fine print matters? Do they really believe the Iranians would go to the trouble of developing a nuclear weapon on the sly when they have so much to gain from trade with the world’s richest economies? And do they really believe Iran would use an atom bomb if it had one?

America has a whole fleet of the things buried in the desert, waiting for… for what? For someone else to use the Bomb first? That has to be it because America hasn’t dared to use a nuclear device since Hiroshima despite all the provocations the world’s leading superpower has endured.

The same goes for Russia. And China.

And you don’t have to be a superpower to have nuclear weapons stockpiled in your back yard. Israel has a bunch. Pakistan has, too. And so do any number of countries around the globe. Even North Korea, which is as poor and puny as a country can get, has some kind of nuclear device tucked away somewhere.

But, like poison gas, the Bomb is not a practical weapon of war. It’s too dangerous, and if you start using it, your enemy will surely use it, too.

Yes, I know  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to destroy Israel. But he is long gone. And the times have changed.

If Iran ever planned to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, I’m sure they don’t have any such plans today. They are winning the battle for supremacy in the Middle East without the Bomb. Thanks to America’s invasion and occupation of Iraq. Thanks to the mess that ensued when Saddam Hussein was deposed.

But that doesn’t seem to matter to the folks who appear  on my TV. They prefer to pretend that Iran is some kind of Doomsday threat to the world. It’s a convenient distraction from the real issues of the day.

But if Iran is such a threat, isn’t North Korea a threat, too? And what about China? The Chinese have seethed for years over America’s protection of Taiwan. And I read in the news this morning that they’re accusing the US of “militarizing” the South China Sea.

And, speaking of potential hotspots, what about Palestine?

Actually, I think the greatest threat to world peace may come from Pakistan. No country in the world harbors more animosity toward the US. No country in the world is more volatile politically. And Pakistan has a stockpile of nuclear arms.

But I suppose American politicians have a lot more to gain by conjuring up a bogeyman poised to wipe out Israel than by addressing the real dangers to the rest of the world.

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