But this stopgap measure has done nothing to remove Iran’s Syrian strongholds, and hundreds of Israeli strikes on Iranian positions have only increased the risk that the conflict will spread to Iraq and Lebanon and escalate to a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. . .....…

Moreover, chaotic, fragmented, Syria likely would do more to unsettle Iraq, Lebanon, and Israel, allied or friendly to America, than Iran. Advocates of U.S action point finger at Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Russia for helping Damascus. ..…