Thursday, July 10, 2008

Iran "Asking For It"

Saddam got himself into a lot of trouble by making people think he had loads of WMDs. All this to frighten his neighbors into not attacking him. Looks like Ahmadinijerk is doing the same thing in Iran. The only difference is we KNOW Iran does have a certain amount of nuclear capability. But if he thinks having a FEW nuclear missiles capable of hitting a few close countries is going to frighten the United States, he has a BIG "other think" coming. A gun with ONE BULLET in it will not help in a gunfight with people who have thousands of bullets. He might do a small bit of damage with his bullet, but after he fires it, he will "disappear" in a "red swoosh" as we retaliate against his pitiful attack. Saddam got himself overthrown and eventually executed that way. Is that what Ahmadinijerk wants? Now we hear that he "Photoshopped" a web site picture (meant for Iranian and maybe other local eyes only) to make it look like he had more missiles than he actually has. Does he REALLY want what Saddam got? (Yahoo News)

2 comments:

Dr. John Maszka said...

While diplomacy with Iran may have its challenges, it should be pursued at every length. Iran has a conscription army and nearly 10 million eligible males between the ages of 18 and 32 (Posen, 2003). Iran’s conventional military potential aside, US Intelligence assesses that Iran will likely have nuclear weapons capability within the decade (Select Committee on Intelligence, 2006).

The United States needs to be very aware of Iran’s growing political influence in the international community as well. In a sermon commencing the month of Ramadan 2007, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the Bush administration of war crimes in Iraq, and of attempting to undermine Islam in the Middle East. Amidst chants from worshipers: “Death to America,” Khamenei stated that he has “a firm belief that one day this current US president and the American officials will be tried in a fair international court for the atrocities committed in Iraq.”

The Ayatollah’s denunciation came just one day after President Bush’s demand that Iran and Syria put an end to their efforts to foil democratization in Iraq. The President’s remarks were based on the report from General Petraeus, indicating that Iran is fighting a “proxy war” in Iraq. In response, Khamenei compared president Bush to Hitler and Saddam Hussein (AFP, 2007).

American popularity worldwide has plummeted over the 2003 invasion of Iraq and Khameinei’s word’s are falling upon a rising number of sympathetic ears. Any inclination the Bush administration has toward regime change in Iran should be given very, very careful thought. Ultimately, the situation confronting the United States regarding Iran is identical in many respects to the threat of terrorism itself:

A clash of cultures, a stubborn battle of wills, two very different ways of looking at the same reality, a global game of chicken in which neither side wants to back down. This of course is a gross oversimplification of a very complex problem, but there are some basic truths to the argument. The United States and Europe are largely divided on their views of Iran, as well as their views of how best to counter terrorism. One of the greatest challenges facing the United States in its efforts to counter terrorism, is learning to understand those who resort to its use, and developing a coherent construct within which to address terrorism. The same can be said of Iran. And few can argue that there is no small amount of testosterone in the air, and this stubbornness can be seen on both sides of the standoff. Henry Kissinger has aptly stated that “so long as Iran views itself as a crusade rather than a nation, a common interest will not emerge from negotiations.” But this observation is equally applicable to the Bush administration as well.

Ray Thomas said...

John: Your entire dissertation could have come right out of the liberal handbook, which copied itself mostly from the Islamic terrorist handbook. It takes various twisted "Facts" to make America look like the "bad guy" in this, while saying (erroneously) that we can "pacify" these murderous terrorists with talk. I'm sorry. That entire thesis is wrong and I'm sorry I had to waste my time reading it so I could answer you. Iran is, like Iraq, a "pissant country" compared to America and we could wipe it off the map in a day, much as we did with Iraq.