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Iran: If this is true, we as a country are screwed...
I don't know how many of you out there have been catching the news, but the persistent rumors that the U.S. will be preemptively attacking Iran got another boost of credibility today.
All over the world (and in a few blogs), news organizations are reporting that within weeks the Administration will launch a war on a third front with Iran as a target.
It doesn't matter that a full 70% of the American public wants out of Iraq, let alone start another cauldron of bloodshed in yet another country with a military we don't have. It doesn't matter what any of us say about it. It doesn't matter what the U.S. Constitution has to say about it.
War with Iran may very well be the Sword of Damocles hanging over our immediate and long-term future.
I seem to remember making a statement about rogue elephants and what happens to them, ooooooh, sometime before the last election.
If this is true, and if this happens, I suspect that We the People will discover just how much saying "it wasn't me, it was those guys in Washington" is going to protect us.
Following the breaking news about the U.S. preparing for an attack on Iran:
Pentagon 'three-day blitz' for Iran (The Times — London)
Will President Bush Bomb Iran? (The Telegraph — U.K.)
U.S. 'Iran Attack Plans' Are Revealed (BBC News)
Test Marketing (The New Yorker — New York)
10 Indications That the U.S. Is Planning Military Action Against Iran (Pacific News Service — California)
Pentagon Draws 'Three-Day Blitz' Plan for Iran and Study: U.S. Preparing 'Massive' Military Attack Against Iran (Raw Story — U.S.)
Countdown to Midnight in Persia (No Quarter — U.S. Blog Analyzing U.S. Intelligence Agencies and Activities)
Considering War with Iran SOAS (Sic Semper Tyrannis 2007 — U.S. Blog Analyzing U.S. Intelligence and Military)
Post Labor Day Product Roll-Out: War with Iran (Informed Comment Global Affairs — U.S. Group Blog on International Relations)
The President's Escalating War Rhetoric With Iran (Salon/Glen Greenwald — U.S.)
If you're not at least a little bit concerned about the future of the U.S. after reading the above links, than I won't hesitate in calling you a fool.
All over the world (and in a few blogs), news organizations are reporting that within weeks the Administration will launch a war on a third front with Iran as a target.
It doesn't matter that a full 70% of the American public wants out of Iraq, let alone start another cauldron of bloodshed in yet another country with a military we don't have. It doesn't matter what any of us say about it. It doesn't matter what the U.S. Constitution has to say about it.
War with Iran may very well be the Sword of Damocles hanging over our immediate and long-term future.
I seem to remember making a statement about rogue elephants and what happens to them, ooooooh, sometime before the last election.
If this is true, and if this happens, I suspect that We the People will discover just how much saying "it wasn't me, it was those guys in Washington" is going to protect us.
Following the breaking news about the U.S. preparing for an attack on Iran:
Pentagon 'three-day blitz' for Iran (The Times — London)
Will President Bush Bomb Iran? (The Telegraph — U.K.)
U.S. 'Iran Attack Plans' Are Revealed (BBC News)
Test Marketing (The New Yorker — New York)
10 Indications That the U.S. Is Planning Military Action Against Iran (Pacific News Service — California)
Pentagon Draws 'Three-Day Blitz' Plan for Iran and Study: U.S. Preparing 'Massive' Military Attack Against Iran (Raw Story — U.S.)
Countdown to Midnight in Persia (No Quarter — U.S. Blog Analyzing U.S. Intelligence Agencies and Activities)
Considering War with Iran SOAS (Sic Semper Tyrannis 2007 — U.S. Blog Analyzing U.S. Intelligence and Military)
Post Labor Day Product Roll-Out: War with Iran (Informed Comment Global Affairs — U.S. Group Blog on International Relations)
The President's Escalating War Rhetoric With Iran (Salon/Glen Greenwald — U.S.)
If you're not at least a little bit concerned about the future of the U.S. after reading the above links, than I won't hesitate in calling you a fool.
A moderate/Conservative Republican rambles on
That said, and speaking as a moderate/conservative Republican, depending on my indigestion at the time, any attack on Iran is stupid beyond belief at this time. The time to stop the Iranian nuclear program with a couple of air strikes passed us by several years ago. Now, the program is so large and dispersed that any attack would ultimately fail in its objective. All we would do is enrage the Iranian public and unify them behind the Mullahs.
Any military action to effectively stop the Iranian from getting the bomb would have to be so widespread that it would constitute an invasion of Iran with a long-term occupation afterwards. I think two counter-insurgencies in the Middle East is enough of us right now.
I say this as someone who is on record against the Iranian Mullah regime, but as much we could get a thrill out of bombing the bad guys in this situation, it would be counter productive.
There are better ways to accomplish our objective. The Iranian economy is very vulnerable to economic sanctions. Remember it was in Iran where there were riots at gas stations over petrol rationing, not the United States. The Iranian economy is weak once you get past those oil resources. Any economy that is dependent on one resource as its many strength is one that is vulnerable to outside sanctions.
In this case Churchill said it perfectly "Better jaw jaw, than war war."