Those of us who spend our days managing stocks and watching the stock market know that certain individuals and companies and politicians are what we call contrary indicators. For example, if someone like Jim Cramer who has a program on CNBC says the market has bottomed and will go up from here, the odds are he is completely wrong and you should act "contrarially". Once he says you should buy a stock, you can bet (and many of us do) that it has had its run and should be sold. These individuals are invaluable. The same thing is true for politicians. There are some who are so completely inept and have such a perfect history of being wrong that it is almost uncanny. In that vein, I give the following as something to be looking for in the Middle East:
Former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday that it was almost inconceivable that Iran would "commit suicide" by launching missiles at Israel. Speaking at Emory University, Carter, who brokered the 1979 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt, said Israel's superior military power and distance from Iran likely are enough to discourage an actual attack.
"Iran is quite distant from Israel," said Carter, 83. "I think it would be almost inconceivable that Iran would commit suicide by launching one or two missiles of any kind against the nation of Israel."
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