They already know we mean them harm, and will attack them any time.
We’ve already made it clear in Iraq that we’ll go to war when we feel like it, regardless of what actions you take. We’ve made it clear that negotiation and comprimise, even outright caving in do not work with America. They’d be fools to give up whatever nuclear program they have.
Glaspie was official, if you remember. We got into trouble in Korea the same way, also official.
I agree that saber rattling sometimes has benefits. I thought that the presence of troops in Kuwait no doubt encourage Saddam to allow inspectors into places they weren’t allowed before, and that this was excellent strategy. What wasn’t excellent was the assholes invading while diplomacy was working. Thus, we have evidence that your optimistic reading of the situation isn’t correct.
They’ve also got the example of Pakistan. Military dictatorship, dangerous extremist factions, definitely harboring terrorists – and armed with nuclear weapons, which they’ve threatened to use against their neighbor, the world’s largest democracy. Somehow, we’re told, Pakistan is a strong ally in the War Against Terror. Not a nasty old part of the Axis of Evil, like Iran.