There are lots of American air bases along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf that could stand in for a carrier, though. And the Arab Spring is mostly a North African thing so far, which is an awful long way away from Iran.

It's obviously always possible for things to go to shit because one or both sides misapprehend their relative strength. But trying to carry the day with foreign irregulars and a Brilliant, Decisive First Strike... That plan just has "catastrophe" written all over it.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.