Deterrence only works if the other guys think you are serious..and your actions WILL harm them

Then again, if they have other goals than surviving and doing well, or think you are full of crap,…the response of public contempt and privately IGNORING YOU becomes manifest across the board…perhaps we should DEPEND on Obama’s final year to be one of ugly foreign actions while he preaches ‘strategic patience’.

A reminder from your sponsor, HISTORY … Winfield Scott preached strategic patience against the south, and in fact the outlines of his anaconda plan worked out….. just as soon as Grant and Sherman reached apex command positions, AND ACTED.

Iran Warns US Against Imposing ‘Illegal’ Sanctions Over ‘Defensive’ Missile Development

Iran warned the US against imposing new sanctions related to its missile program, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Thursday.
Responding to reports that the Obama administration is preparing to place economic pressure on the Islamic Republic over its continued missile development and testing, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari called the proposed move “unilateral, arbitrary and illegal.”
Ansari reiterated that Iran’s missile program was not covered under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, “as the US officials have mentioned before,” and that nothing would prevent Iran from pursuing its “legitimate right” to reinforce its “defensive strength and national security.”

and then ..

Iranian President Orders Defense Ministry to Accelerate, Expand Missile Program

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered his Defense Ministry to “enhance and accelerate” the development of the country’s missile program, in response to new US-imposed sanctions, semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Thursday.
Rouhani called the latest sanctions “hostile policies and illegal and illegitimate meddling against Iran’s right to develop its defensive power.” In a written order to Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan, the president said, “The program for the production of the Armed Forces’ needed missiles is required to continue more speedily and seriously.”
Rouhani’s decree also included a widening of the scope of missile production.

And across the board…

Nasrallah said to rebuff warning against attacking IsraelGerman envoy met with Hezbollah chief, who said revenge for Kuntar assassination would go forward — report

In a recent meeting, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reportedly rejected a German envoy’s attempts to convince him not to attack Israel in retaliation for the December 19 assassination, attributed to Israel, of terrorist Samir Kuntar.