Now we hear that Israel is prepared to take matters into its own hands and attack several nuclear facilities in Iran, amplified by American politicians eager to seem "tough." Netanyahu's government and many Americans are convinced that the big dog of the Persian Gulf (for that we can thank the ill-advised war in Iraq) is pursuing nuclear weapons.

President Obama said Monday that the United States "will always have Israel's back." At the same time, he has criticized all the cheap belligerence emanating from GOP presidential candidates and Israeli hawks. On Tuesday, he rightly called out the Republican war hounds for not taking war seriously enough.

"This is not a game," the president said.

No, it's not. But it's all to easy for many Americans to treat it as if it is. The media is generally more than happy to aid and abet that thinking.