For the U.S., the crisis in Iran is the latest episode in a long, tortured history

Open this photo in gallery: Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16. Iran sent missile strikes on Israeli cities early in the day, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation.-/AFP/Getty Images The complex, multidimensional 21st century factors that American officials are juggling in the wake of Israel's attack on Iran might be best viewed through two towering 19th century European figures. One is Austrian Klemens von Metternich, the most important statesman of the period, whose wisdom can be captured in one of his…