Interesting. I've been correct in evaluation and prediction in almost every situation while the reverse for you is also true. Why is it then that I am the one which needs the brain? You mention the Bush administration. When did I say they handled things properly? Never.
Then there's your strange American Revolutionary War analogy. The situation, goals, terrain, technology, virtually every thing is different. The Brits had to come to a nation where enemies knew how to hide, how to hit and when to run. They had no options. We do. We don't have to invade. We don't have to occupy. If the mighty Iranian government decides to attack the worlds oil the only military capability they will retain is the ability to beat up the Vienna Boys Choir- maybe. One thing you would know if you understood how the world works in this regard is that the best trained, best equipped, most situationally aware force wins. Perhaps to your dismay obama is unlikely to be as stunningly incompetent as his predecessor. Options range from a demonstration of power to containment to devastating Iran's forces with limited engagement on the ground. The very real possibility exists of leaving Iran utterly defenseless and just walk away, leaving it to the tender mercies of their neighbors, the Saudis and others.
I do love the irrational chest-thumping. It's really quite amusing, in a not-funny way.
First off, the US would be fools to allow Israel to attack. The whole focus would shift to Israel, with enormous sympathy for Iran from other nations in the region. In a non nuclear scenario, Israel would bankrupt herself trying to sustain the kind of attacks required to subdue Iran, if they're even remotely capable of doing that at all.
Meanwhile, the US lacks the shock value of 9/11 to conflate the issues, and therefore the political will to do so, not to mention a very strong lack of support from the rest of the world.
Iran is no pushover, being much larger, wealthier & better positioned strategically than Iraq, no to mention that they have friends who'll rapidly provide them with advanced AA equipment, if only to reality test the stuff, cripple US efforts at hegemony.
Iran also has an ace in the hole in their hardened Fordow facility, not to mention the ability to make Afghanistan a lot more uncomfortable than it already is, foment unrest in Kurdistan (already with strong economic ties to Iran), so forth & so on.
I think US policymakers have been bluffing all along, and that Iran has correctly played it as such. Not even the Bushistas were stupid enough to attack, which should tell us something, something important...
Notice how the raving has subsided? The saber rattling ceased? The US position modified to accommodate enrichment of fuel grade uranium? Desperate fearmongering on the part of the Netanyahu govt, not followed by more from the US?
There's a deal being made, quietly, I suspect, because apparently a lot of important people realize that the consequences of attacking Iran are incalculable, therefore making it un-doable for people who take the time to rub their grey cells together. It's been that way all along.