Re: Please enjoy this war with Iran.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EventHorizon</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EventHorizon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Iranian regime does pose a real and significant threat to the USA, of this I am certain. However, the fantasy that this threat is via a nuclear strike or even a 'dirty' bomb is gullible and ill-informed.
Iran engages the US via indirect means - arming insurgents in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan etc. It, via Syria, supports, trains and funds Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. It has fostered cells in South and Central America and has cells in Europe (East and West) and I'd imagine a few here in the US. These cells are part of it's shadow inventory of retaliatory means should there be a direct, overt attack from Israel and the US/Allies.
Should Assad fall in Syria then this would be the single biggest strike into the power base of the Iranian regime and would give the Revolutionary Guard generals some serious pause for thought about deposing the mullahs and changing Iran's diplomatic stance from one of extremism to co-operation with the West and the opening up of Iranian markets to the rest of the world.
I feel that this is the course of events with the big 'maybe' being one of the various cells going rogue and doing something that puts everyone into an intractable position. This 'maybe' might also be really bad if chemical weapons have been smuggled out of Syria and processed into any one of these cells - especially concerning would be possession by Hezbollah.
I find this thread highly illustrative of how much more distracting fantasy is from the humdrum of reality. You're all getting worked up over 'intolerable' for Iran to have a nuke but the single most bat-shit crazy country in the world already has nukes, overtly houses the Taliban, completely supported the growth and strengthening of Al-Qaida in Afghanistan before and leading up to 9/11, was home to the recently deceased Osama Bin Laden and as their piece d'resistance, spawned, protected and enabled the scientist who single-handedly had more to do with nuclear technology proliferation to other bat-shit crazy regimes in North Korea and Iran than anyone could imagine...
I wonder how many of our geopolitical geniuses can figure out which country this is and answer why there's no need to 'glass/neutralize/kick ass/ [insert redneck phrase du jour] them instead or at least, first... </div></div>
Uh...duh...becus pacistan alrady has a matoor progrim in plase and Irun don't yet? Culd dat be da raisin?
Are yoo sugjestin dat osama been ladin was in Pacistan? Wow!
dat chanjes everytin! </div></div>
Blessed are those whose diction is matched by their insight...
YOu suggest there's nothing to be done about Pakistan? C'est la vie? Right, in the meantime, let's open up yet another theatre of war, galvanize yet another tier of terrorists all because we're going to take seriously the posturing of a regime that has proven time and again it's far more interested in maintaining power at home than it is in wiping out Jews or spreading Islam. I mean, the last couple of wars have worked out so well, what could possibly go wrong... </div></div>
And those trustworthy Mullahs and the nut-job leader they have would be such good stewards of a few dozen nukes. Well I can sleep now. I do agree with you that the wars were badly lead. Nation building should have never been in the mix. It should have been more like Sherman's march to the sea via B-52. And that's how the next one should be. And let the Pakis let one nuke off and watch what happens. We will be sending tankers of iodine to china for years.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EventHorizon</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EventHorizon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Iranian regime does pose a real and significant threat to the USA, of this I am certain. However, the fantasy that this threat is via a nuclear strike or even a 'dirty' bomb is gullible and ill-informed.
Iran engages the US via indirect means - arming insurgents in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan etc. It, via Syria, supports, trains and funds Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. It has fostered cells in South and Central America and has cells in Europe (East and West) and I'd imagine a few here in the US. These cells are part of it's shadow inventory of retaliatory means should there be a direct, overt attack from Israel and the US/Allies.
Should Assad fall in Syria then this would be the single biggest strike into the power base of the Iranian regime and would give the Revolutionary Guard generals some serious pause for thought about deposing the mullahs and changing Iran's diplomatic stance from one of extremism to co-operation with the West and the opening up of Iranian markets to the rest of the world.
I feel that this is the course of events with the big 'maybe' being one of the various cells going rogue and doing something that puts everyone into an intractable position. This 'maybe' might also be really bad if chemical weapons have been smuggled out of Syria and processed into any one of these cells - especially concerning would be possession by Hezbollah.
I find this thread highly illustrative of how much more distracting fantasy is from the humdrum of reality. You're all getting worked up over 'intolerable' for Iran to have a nuke but the single most bat-shit crazy country in the world already has nukes, overtly houses the Taliban, completely supported the growth and strengthening of Al-Qaida in Afghanistan before and leading up to 9/11, was home to the recently deceased Osama Bin Laden and as their piece d'resistance, spawned, protected and enabled the scientist who single-handedly had more to do with nuclear technology proliferation to other bat-shit crazy regimes in North Korea and Iran than anyone could imagine...
I wonder how many of our geopolitical geniuses can figure out which country this is and answer why there's no need to 'glass/neutralize/kick ass/ [insert redneck phrase du jour] them instead or at least, first... </div></div>
Uh...duh...becus pacistan alrady has a matoor progrim in plase and Irun don't yet? Culd dat be da raisin?
Are yoo sugjestin dat osama been ladin was in Pacistan? Wow!
dat chanjes everytin! </div></div>
Blessed are those whose diction is matched by their insight...
YOu suggest there's nothing to be done about Pakistan? C'est la vie? Right, in the meantime, let's open up yet another theatre of war, galvanize yet another tier of terrorists all because we're going to take seriously the posturing of a regime that has proven time and again it's far more interested in maintaining power at home than it is in wiping out Jews or spreading Islam. I mean, the last couple of wars have worked out so well, what could possibly go wrong... </div></div>
And those trustworthy Mullahs and the nut-job leader they have would be such good stewards of a few dozen nukes. Well I can sleep now. I do agree with you that the wars were badly lead. Nation building should have never been in the mix. It should have been more like Sherman's march to the sea via B-52. And that's how the next one should be. And let the Pakis let one nuke off and watch what happens. We will be sending tankers of iodine to china for years.
