Iran Threatens to Defend Itself

[Gurdur]

It still amazes me that so many allegedly progressive Lefties are so intent on defending every action of a regime that seems to want to go back to the middle ages.

Hey, not me. And I'm genuinely progressive, not just allegedly.

 

[Thunder]

It still amazes me that so many allegedly progressive Lefties are so intent on defending every action of a regime that seems to want to go back to the middle ages.

im sorry.......do you want to attack Iran because you believe they are developing nuclear weapons or because you dissaprove of their way of life?

Hmmmm???

 

[Gurdur]

... unless, ofcourse, war is the goal you are trying to achieve..and not avoid.

It ain't me with all the bellicose attitudes.

Does it ever strike you that Iran may be provoking a war? All that rhetoric, all those weird preparations?

 

[plumjam]

Free Asterix I say

*

There. Liberated.

 

[Thunder]

It ain't me with all the bellicose attitudes.

Does it ever strike you that Iran may be provoking a war? All that rhetoric, all those weird preparations?

Saying Iran may be provoking a war is like saying Poland provoked the Blitzkreig.

There is no evidence Iran has enriched uranium past the point of energy use. Therefore there is no reason to attack them.

 

[Gurdur]

Saying Iran may be provoking a war is like saying Poland provoked the Blitzkreig.

No.

 

[Texas]

Saying Iran may be provoking a war is like saying Poland provoked the Blitzkreig.

There is no evidence Iran has enriched uranium past the point of energy use. Therefore there is no reason to attack them.

Once you enrich to the point of energy use the rest is a piece of cake. As to attacking them, it isn't going to happen unless the Mullahs are stupid enough to announce their bomb. If they are that foolish then Israel will more than likely take some kind of action. The real worry is what the other Arab Nations would do in the face of the Persian and Pakistani weapons. With the vast wealth of most of them they could very quickly build or even buy their own capabilities.

 

[gtc]

It ain't me with all the bellicose attitudes.

Does it ever strike you that Iran may be provoking a war? All that rhetoric, all those weird preparations?

Or is it something more subtle? I wonder if they are trying to do just enough to make Israel feel threatened and make America look impotent. They get to boost their cachet and influence in the Muslim and Arab world (which has never been particularly fond of Persia) and boost their military power without actually doing enough to provoke a war.

It seems like a fine line they are treading.

 

[Texas]

Or is it something more subtle? I wonder if they are trying to do just enough to make Israel feel threatened and make America look impotent. They get to boost their cachet and influence in the Muslim and Arab world (which has never been particularly fond of Persia) and boost their military power without actually doing enough to provoke a war.

It seems like a fine line they are treading.

One thing you can always count on in the Middle East regarding war is over reaching. Saddam was famous for it, and those that waged war on Israel suffered from it as well. I'm not sure if it is stupidity or just a result of an insular view of the outside world.

 

[Undesired Walrus]

All this can be solved if Mahmoud made a few phallic jokes about firing missiles.

'I assure Bush that this time, our missiles will not fire blank' etc etc.

People love a good laugh, especially if they have a jihad on their head.

 

[Beerina]

How dare they!! How dare Iran threaten to defend itself and respond to illegal and unneccessary attacks!! Who do they think they are?

How does a viscious and murderous dictatorship have any right to do anything at all? It's exactly like saying some thugs who have hostages in a bank have some right to defend themselves.

 

[Ziggurat]

So, in a discussion about Iran's advancements in missile technology, you accuse them of wanting to back to the Middle Ages.

The Middle Ages were defined by more than low levels of technology. Social structures were quite a bit different (and quite a bit more barbaric) than today as well, and it is that aspect which the mullahs seek to regress.

 

[Darth Rotor]

Long range defense?

You're less likely to get poked if you can poke back.

The word for that is deterrence. Sometimes works, sometimes not so much.

DR

 

[UserGoogol]

How does a viscious and murderous dictatorship have any right to do anything at all? It's exactly like saying some thugs who have hostages in a bank have some right to defend themselves.

Are you saying thugs in a bank don't have a right to defend themselves?

Two wrongs don't make a right. Bad things happening to a bad person is still bad, and therefore self-defense (in so far as self-defense is ever justified) is justified even for evil people. And anyway, it's not like they're talking about defending themselves from punishments for being a vicious and murderous dictatorship, which is the obvious analogy for thugs in a bank (although I'm sure if they were to be attacked on that grounds they would defend themselves), but for attacks committed on the basis of something for which there is a reasonable argument to be made that they are not even doing it. Additionally, with thugs in a bank there are a lot of legal safeguards to ensure that the thugs are apprehended in a fair and just way and given due proccess. International conflicts are a lot more fast and loose, to contrast, which makes it harder (although not impossible) for any side to claim moral authority.

 

[senorpogo]

The Middle Ages were defined by more than low levels of technology. Social structures were quite a bit different (and quite a bit more barbaric) than today as well, and it is that aspect which the mullahs seek to regress.

I realize that. I still find the juxtaposition humorous.

 

[senorpogo]

The word for that is deterrence. Sometimes works, sometimes not so much.

DR

Why say 'deterrence' when you can use the word 'poke' twice in one sentence?

Poke.

 

[Bikewer]

The rhetoric flying around on CNN yesterday was pretty wild. Iran's missile tests were described by various politicos as "aggressive" and bellicose".

This after, of course, the big Israeli "training exercise" which everyone said (wink, wink, ) was a rehearsal for an attack on Iran...

One administration fellow (sorry, can't recall who) was going on about the imminent danger posed by these tests....

Let's see...By all accounts, Iran is years from fielding a nuclear weapon, which means they could launch a missile with a high-explosive warhead which might be able to hit Israel.... While Israel has, by most thinking, some hundreds of nukes themselves....

Sounds like a bunch of political saber-rattling to me, but dangerous in that we are hearing more and more urgent language from the administration (and McCain, who spoke forcefully of "action" yesterday) to the effect that an attack might be necessary.

Bluffing? A dangerous business in that region.

 

[Darth Rotor]

Why say 'deterrence' when you can use the word 'poke' twice in one sentence?

Poke.

A Churchillian, I see.

 

[Thunder]

Israel does military excersizes to threaten Iran...the world says nothing.

Iran does military exersizes to tell Israel "dont attack or we will fight back" and the world goes ape.

Is there something wrong with this picture?

 

[senorpogo]

A Churchillian, I see.

Always remember, however sure you are that you could easily win, that there would not be a war if the other man did not think he also had a chance.