Delusions of Omnipotence

I've noticed a very troubling pattern in news coverage of the standoff with Iran over nuclear weapons. The media typically frame these stories by asking: Should the US bomb nuclear sites in order to prevent Iran from developing nuclear technology?

The question assumes that bombing will stop Iran from developing nuclear technology. At the cost of a few bombs, we can just make the problem go away.

Few military experts believe that bombing alone would do more than set the program back a few years. We don't know where all the sites are in any case. Meanwhile, the costs and risks are severe: Iran would have to retaliate, perhaps by attacking US troops in Iraq, perhaps by inciting a state-sponsored campaign of terrorism against the US. A bombing campaign risks setting off a regional war. It would certainly consolidate popular support for the Iranian regime, enhancing its grip on power. It would incentivize the regime to resume a crash course of nuclear development as the only way to protect itself.

This frame engages in the most pernicious kind of delusional thinking: that the US can control events. It's very pleasing to imagine that the US is in a position to dictate terms to the rest of the world, rather than cope with risks and manage negotiations. Because the US is as powerful as it is, this delusion is particularly dangerous.