Michael Snyder
http://endoftheamericandream.com/ asks:

Is 2012 the year when we will see a major war in the Middle East? Will Israel strike Iran at some point in the next few months? Will the U.S. military intervene in the rapidly escalating conflict inside of Syria?

What makes war so much more likely now is that nobody has shown any signs of backing down.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has sworn that he will never step down.

U.S. President Barack Obama says that it is only a matter of time until he is forced to step down and that no other outcome is acceptable.

Iran has sworn that it will never end its nuclear program.

The United States believes that if Iran is allowed to develop a nuclear weapon it would be a fundamental threat to world security.

Israel believes that if Iran is allowed to develop a nuclear weapon it would be a fundamental threat to the very existence of the nation of Israel.

So if nobody backs down...