Updated

According to CBS News, Israel is telling President Bush that if he doesn't do something to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons capability, Israel will attack the Iranians.

CBS analyst Michael Oren says that Israel does not want to wait for the new American president to be elected before action is taken.

Unstated, but certainly implied, is that Israel believes Barack Obama might win and that he might not be as aggressive toward Iran as the Bush administration is.

Now, this presents a number of problems for America and for the world.

First, the USA cannot attack Iran without alienating much of the planet, including millions of Americans. There is simply no will in this world — and in much of this country — for an armed confrontation with Iran, no matter what the stakes are.

It is important for all of us to realize how fearful many people are these days. If President Bush were to attack Iran without congressional approval, which he would not get, he would be vilified and impeached. So America will not use its military to stop Iran's nuclear aspirations, at least not right now.

That leaves Israel. If that country attacks Iran, a full-fledged war will break out in the Middle East. Hezbollah, Hamas and possibly Syria will join Iran in striking Israel, and few countries will help the Israelis.

Such a scenario would send oil prices well above $200 a barrel, causing the world economy to collapse. And this is exactly what the Islamic fascists want: world wide chaos and condemnation of Israel and the USA.

So the danger is incredible, and few world leaders have the guts to confront the situation.

The solution is a total economic boycott of Iran. That would cause that country to collapse and the mullahs would be overthrown. But the world still will not cooperate.

Even here in America there are people helping the Iranians. Far-left loons continue to downplay the danger from that country, and incredibly the General Electric Corporation continues to do business with Iran.

When Goodyear stopped selling tires to Iran in 2006, GE, the parent company of NBC, became the only major company to continue dealing with the mullahs. CEO Jeffrey Immelt admits the situation, saying GE can't quit Iran cold turkey.

By the way, Immelt is now being accused of another bad situation by American environmentalists.

"Talking Points" believes that many, perhaps most, Americans do not understand the danger the Iranian situation poses. We urge Israel to be patient. And we urge China and Russia to join NATO in punishing Iran economically.

It is not far-fetched to say that Iran's craziness could cause another world war, with oil right in the middle of it.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

As you know, AIDS has devastated many parts of Africa, and the USA has been extremely generous in helping Africans who have the disease.

Now singer Kelly Rowland, formerly of Destiny's Child, is traveling the continent to raise public awareness about AIDS. Ms. Rowland herself is taking an AIDS test.

So Kelly Rowland is a patriot.

On the pinhead front, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is angry that Karl Rove has called Barack Obama "arrogant."

So Wednesday Ms. Dowd wrote: "Conservatives love playing this little game, acting as if the 'elite' Democratic candidates are not in touch with people like themselves, even though the guys doing the attacking — like Rove, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Hannity — are wealthy and cosseted."

I can't speak for the other men, but Dowd is being blatantly dishonest regarding me, your misunderstood humble correspondent. "The Factor" has been exceedingly fair to Senator Obama and has not attacked him.

As for being cosseted, Ms. Dowd knows nothing about how I live. She is simply a pinhead, writing for perhaps the most elite-minded publication in history.

Or am I wrong?