MRM,

Thanks. I believe I caught the irony in your post! IF I understand you correctly I believe I agree completely. But with my English, thats a big IF.. :D

Yes, we must invest in a mass bombing campaign. Trillions, if necessary. It's the price of "freedom's on the march" in the Middle East.

I think I've been on a list all my life...it's usually someone's "s***list" :)! Serious issue however... From my perspective, no one wants Iran to have nuclear weapons, that's a given, but IMO, they absolutely have the right to pursue nuclear energy (as is what they maintain they are doing). Do I trust them...heck no, no more than anyone should trust us/US, but there is a BIG distinction between the two, and we should be focusing on ensuring the "weapons aspect" never occurs imo. Is that doable...I think so, without initiating WWIII. That said, I'm afraid the "rhetoric" does not make a distinction when discussing Iran's nuclear capabilities, and frankly, I have trouble believing anything OUR current administration has to say either after their glowing track record.

One point I would like to make is that the US is NOT stretched for anything. No one in this country even knows there is a war going on. We all drink our lattes and go about our daily living with out any sacrifice whatsoever. Our military appears stretched, but only if you consider that they need to be comfortable and get their 8 hours sleep in an AC bunk (I know that this is not completely true, but it is more true than not).

If the US were to go on true war footing, as it did in WW2, then the Iranian situation would be a flyspeck on our windshield.

The US is NOT stretched. Iran is stretched, just to live day to day, l.et alone going to actual war.

All I am stating is that the US is not constrained by anything at this point and is not likely to be in any real crisis. The Iranians need to realize this for they are the ones who will lose, and for that matter the entire Arab world would lose its way of life as a consequence of such a war. Yes it would be bad. But we would win.

As to the straight. If for any reason it is closed, then the might of the entire world would come to bear on the problem and the straight would soon be open and Iran would never again be in position to even launch a sail boat there.

I thought Iran was a bustling metropolis with the highest rate of education of all the Arab nations. I was also of the opinion that it has a very low unemployment rate. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gPRnXKksSA

[QUOTE=snowman;4040952]One point I would like to make is that the US is NOT stretched for anything. No one in this country even knows there is a war going on. We all drink our lattes and go about our daily living with out any sacrifice whatsoever. Our military appears stretched, but only if you consider that they need to be comfortable and get their 8 hours sleep in an AC bunk (I know that this is not completely true, but it is more true than not).

If the US were to go on true war footing, as it did in WW2, then the Iranian situation would be a flyspeck on our windshield.

The US is NOT stretched. Iran is stretched, just to live day to day, l.et alone going to actual war.

All I am stating is that the US is not constrained by anything at this point and is not likely to be in any real crisis. The Iranians need to realize this for they are the ones who will lose, and for that matter the entire Arab world would lose its way of life as a consequence of such a war. Yes it would be bad. But we would win.

As to the straight. If for any reason it is closed, then the might of the entire world would come to bear on the problem and the straight would soon be open and Iran would never again be in position to even launch a sail boat there.[/QUOTE


Sounds stretched to me.

Don't bomb Iran, Bush warns Israel
BY RICHARD SISK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Wednesday, July 2nd 2008, 9:47 PM
WASHINGTON - President Bush and the top U.S. military commander warned Israel Wednesday against bombing Iran, suggesting the U.S. doesn't want to get involved in a third war.
"This is a very unstable part of the world and I don't need it to be more unstable," Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said at a briefing.
Bush said, "I have made it clear to all parties [including Israel] that the first option is diplomacy," in getting Iran to stop enriching uranium that could be used for a nuclear weapon.
The warnings came after the disclosure that Israel had conducted air operations over the Mediterranean that could simulate a strike on Iran.

What do you expect him to say, "blow their goat smellin' asses up?"

We have sold Israel some 500 BLU-109's.... 2000# JDAM penetrating bombs... bombs specifically designe3d to take-out hardened targets....

Look at the Israeli F-16 and F-15 varient... the F-16I has conformal wing tanks.. gives the Israeli 16 extra range... some goes for the Israeli F-15.

Israel has air to air refueling capability.... versions of the Boeing 707 [like our KC-135]

Fact is >> Israel can not and will not permit Iran to build, acquire, develop, posess a nuclear weapon/device... as that capability presents a strategic threat to the existance of Israel.


Israel recently completed a series of long range aerial exercises.... [simulated mission of a alfa strike onIran??]

Israel does not need any of our/US hardware to perform the mission.. they do need for the USto turn a blind eye as theIsraeli F-16/F-15 /F4, Mirage, A-4s and whatever else they throw into the fight.. fly over Iraq.....

The Chairman of the CJCS has gone on the record and said that if Iran tries to close the Straits of Hormuz... well > there will be blood....

We live in some dangerous times.... somethig will bust .... it will be an Israeli decision when and how to strike > but it will happen.

Israel has already struck suspected Iran nuclear sites by air years ago. They could do it again. But I doubt it until they burst that oil futures bubble. $145 now. It would go to $200 if anybody breathed on Iran.

Bush won't do anything. He doesn't want to get impeached a few months before leaving office. That would be the last straw. What he should be doing is getting off his tail and do something about oil commodity pricing with the Congress. The government has intervened on commodity pricing before, and needs to act on oil right now.

Really? I thought it was Iraq's sites. I could be wrong, but...

It was Iraq, and it was in the 1980's.

Loose your tin foil hat?

de wolfe - you are right, except that the Iranians are not Arabs - they are the ancient foes of the Arabs, and of the Greeks, they are the Persians.

I am not convinced that Israel can conduct a thorough raid on their own. Of course, even if the "go it alone" we will be up there with AWACs and JSTARs and who knows how many drones.

The latest news is that Iran appears to have "given a little" on the diplomatic front. I doubt it turns out to be much.

At any rate, I will go on drinking my mochas, and if constrained will have to switch to lattes.

Syria just recently but Syria wont admit it & Israel just laughs.

Israel just laughs, but only at the U.S.. Congress just gave them another 170 million, plus all the weapons they buy from us on loan and then the debt is forgiven.
Our ties to that terror state need to be severed before we will ever stop terrorism against the U.S. All the bombs, bullets, tanks and bulldozers used by Israel to keep their perpetual state of victimhood alive say "made in U.S.A." on them.
That's the problem and always has been, Like I said before" we didn't have one enemy in the middle east until we had one friend."
I do hope Israel attacks Iran, then we will finally be rid of them.

Pentagon chiefs fear that plans drawn up by Israel to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities will fail because of Tel Aviv's lack of intelligence, a report says.


They will drag the U.S in with them.


According to a report published by the Sunday Telegraph, American commanders worry that despite having 'no guarantee' of Israel's ability to stop Iran's nuclear progress, Tel Aviv may have plans to launch a premature military strike on Iran.

A Pentagon official familiar with recent talks between Israeli generals and Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen told the paper that any attack on Iran is likely to fail due to lack of intelligence.

He explained that neither the CIA nor the Mossad know the precise location and the vulnerabilities of Iranian nuclear sites.

"The Israelis have a real sense of urgency. They are stepping up their preparations," the paper quoted another official familiar with the Israel-US military talks as saying.

"The Americans had spies in Iran until they were rounded up in 2003 and now they do not have much by way of humint (human intelligence) on the ground. The Israelis have better information. But the Americans went away from the meetings unconvinced that the Israelis have enough intelligence on where to strike, and with little confidence that they will be able to destroy the nuclear program," the official added.

The report comes as Israel, which accuses Tehran of developing atomic bombs, is reportedly persuading the White House to give the green light to a Tel Aviv military strike against Iran.

Isaac Ben-Israel, a former Israeli air force general, claimed last week that while hitting the scattered nuclear facilities in Iran would be 'difficult', Tel Aviv can successfully halt the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

This is while Iran insists its nuclear activities are aimed at providing fuel for its under-construction power plants. Tehran argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is entitled to a civilian nuclear program.

In its most recent report, the UN nuclear watchdog conceded that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and the 'alleged studies' of weaponization in Iran's nuclear facilities.

Let's not forget, Israel refuses to sign the NNPT

dam.. two posts in a row of textbook far left rhetoric



do you write for them anywhere but here?

"Perpetual state of victimhood?" Do you have a table cloth on your head with a fan belt holding it on? More Arabs have the right to vote in Israel than in any other ME country. So spit it out dipshiit, are you down with the peace lovers?

"perpetual state of victimhood" is a reference to the jews. Without victimhood they would have no identity.

There are about 1,100,000 arabs in Israel, approximately 20% of the population. Are you saying that in the other ME countries they cant put together a 1,100,000 arab voting block?

There are 32 million registered voters in Egypt alone. Egypt is an Arabic speaking country, that would mean there are 32 million arabs voting in Egypt.

You might want to study up on the middle east a little more, or just a little period, for starters.