ISRAEL AND IRAN HAVE BOTH CHOSEN TO HAVE THEIR BIG SHOWDOWN NOW

The main thing that I've got to say that I'm not hearing from others -- and it seems very clear to me -- is that the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy/consulate building in Damascus on April 1 was a deliberate Israeli attempt to provoke the "wider regional war" that I had assumed Israel was eager to avoid. Now, the Iranian retaliation is widely described as "disproportionate." So Iran is also saying, "Let's shoot it out now."