Shooting down the IAF

Jimmy Carter's national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski -- last seen urging dialogue with hummus -- thinks the U.S. should shoot down Israeli jets if they're dispatched to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. (The jets would almost certainly have to fly over Iraq, whose airspace is controlled by the U.S. military.)

This is why I'm not a fan of interviewing former government officials about current policies. It's true that Brzezinski is considered a foreign policy "wise man." But it's also true that Brzezinski has no real power -- he's not a member of the government! His suggestion is purely a thought exercise, no different than an op-ed column.

Nonetheless, because it comes from a former White House official, his suggestion is going to carry weight. Journalists will ask questions about it and solicit reactions from Obama and Netanyahu. Op-ed columnists will use it as a straw man, writing jeremiads about how "some want to shoot down IAF jets!".