My main point (earlier in the thread) is if Israel feels threatened– and I think they have a much better feel for this than you or I, they should protect themselves through an offensive military strike. I will not shed any tears for Iran and will thank the Israelis for doing what we and the rest of the world does not seem to have the courage to do. Oh, and the Iranian people will be better off losing only a nuclear facility than being caught up in a full-scale war.

The glow comment was aimed at allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons and let them get out of positive control. Never happen right? About as unlikely as bringing down the twin towers with an airplane?

Al Qaeda’s budget was even punier. They perpetrated the September 11 attacks for about $500,000. That’s one-six millionth of the US federal budget of $3.1 trillion. Unfortunately, wars are not fought by accountants with spreadsheets.

Or would you claim that those three thousand dead people in the World Trade Center were killed by an accounting error?

I really hope that statement was sarcasm.

Israel has proven thier resolve to keep the Middle Easwt nuke free by taking out potential reactors in Iraq and Syria. Why think they would do something different here? I gurantee you, Israel knows precisely where the Iranians have all of thier nuclear material. A couple of planes will swoop in early one morning, the clean up crews will spend the afternoon clearing the rubble and the whole dance will begin anew.

It will be Russia and China who are upset because all the time and energy they spent arming our enemies in order to divert our attention from economic factors will have been wasted.

Then again, to quote a line from arguable the last good movie from the Indiana Jones serial, “You wanna meet God, let’s go together, I’ve got plenty of time!”

On June 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm, Ilovemycountry said:

I wish all of you folks who want a war with Iran would sign up for military service instead of talking big and bad on a blog

This is the usual Liberal response to anyone that does not have the Kumbaya feelings that they do.

It is one of the most immature responses that could be made. I enjoy football, but must I play for the Niners in order to be a fan or encourage them to win? No.

You people also do not ever consider for one second whether or not the people making such statements have either served in the military, are serving, have attempted to serve but were turned away for whatever reasons, or have, like myself, served this country and their community in other aspects such as firefighters, police or other civil service capacities.

I, myself, went to the recruiter when I was 19 to join the Air Force and was turned down due to the fact I had received injections for allergies with the belief they held that i could not go to some foreign country and have a severe allergy attack. they did not wish to reason about how, having had the injections, i would NOT have said attacks. They merely closed the file they had begun and escorted me out the door.

Again in 1990, when the first Gulf War broke out, I went to the Army Recruiter and was told the only way he would sign me up is if I wanted to have a career in the military, for if I was just signing up to fight in that war, it would be over before I got out of basic training. Sure enough, he was right.

Then came 9-11. I again called the recruiter, and was told that i was better off at my age, staying in the fire service for that is what was needed at home…they had more than enough people at the time and would not talk to me.

I am now a disabled fireman, retired out due to my injury on the job helping my fellow man. I could not sign up now no matter what.

Is it your contention, then, that I have not done enough as it is and am no longer allowed to say we should take care of business with these Islamic thugs who have repeatedly destroyed the good will and peace of this world, making it near impossible to travel in many places without fear of hijacking, kidnapping, death and/or dismemberment? I should not be allowed to speak my mind, according to our basic fundamental rights, and express my belief and opinion that we need to, once and for all, finish what was begun BY THEM a long time ago?

Seems to me that you and those of your nature and beliefs, who constantly scream and yell about how us mean old Conservatives are denying and removing your right to Free Speech are, in fact, demanding that we no longer be allowed to practice that same right.

i suggest, sir/madam, that you keep that opinion to yourself, for you know NOTHING about the people you demand do what the people who say such idiotic statements such as that, want them to. Unless you know for sure, keep it to yourself, for you are nothing buit a thug yourself.

Your analogy doesn’t hold in my opinion….

My family isn’t going to glow due to any action by Iran….

While I can respect your opinion…the idea of most “reasonable people” presupposes the idea that the state’s interests coincide with those of individual citizens.

Given the fact that most of the reasons given for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seem to be dubious at best, is it logical to assume that the current push for war with Iran..(even by proxy using the state of Israel) would lessen tensions in the middle east?

Let me be clear….I do NOT reject the necessity of war….I believe that war …IF it is necessary, should be punitive. If war is deemed necessary it should be fought without restrictions. War is war….

My position is that war should be a last resort…and that conscious and thoughtful debate as to the necessity of such action is within the purview of our public consciousness.

To personalize…..I don’t threaten…I don’t get in anyone’s face…I respect the idea that people have the right to live their own lives as they see fit, and by extrapolation this extends to other sovereign nations. If I am actually threatened I deal with it appropriately.

The bottom line?….I don’t reject the possiblity that a pre-emptive strike by Israel against Iran might be necessary…..but I think that a knee-jerk endorsement of such a position without a thoughtful consideration of the consequences would be a rejection of the responsibilities of citizenship.

I think we are on the same page here; My point was if Israel makes the first move, taking out nuclear facilities (a very defensible move IMO based on the continuous threats made to wipe them out), the US could speak to the pro-westerners on the side and say “Get rid of the extremists in your government and we will help you build a democracy like we are doing in Iran.” I think that would be the best outcome we could hope for in this day and age.

Moderate Iranians are already fighting the mullahcracy in small scale by fighting the religious police who try to arrest women on the street for un-Islamic dress. They also have quite a vigorous blogosphere in opposition to the regime. They sprout satellite dishes to receive forbidden TV in defiance of the mullahs’ fatwas.

Only thing is we’re on a very dicey timeline shrinking with the clock. Zero hour for the pro-westerners to effect reign-change is the minute when Iran mills out that first ingot of plutonium. Before that, any understandable pre-emptive strike to obliterate its nuke facilities will be seen by ALL Iranians as the equivalent to our response at Pearl Harbor. Not good at all. It will take nothing less than a mushroom cloud over a U.S. city directly traceable to Iran to assuage pro-western Iranians that our attacking their nuke sites is justified. A vicious circle.

James Greenidge
Queen NY

Moderate Iranians are already fighting the mullahcracy in small scale by fighting the religious police who try to arrest women on the street for un-Islamic dress. They also have quite a vigorous blogosphere in opposition to the regime. They sprout satellite dishes to receive forbidden TV in defiance of the mullahs’ fatwas.

While there is an amorphous mass of resistance to the regime, it is a big step to organized resistance. The regime can simply arrest you or your family members to snuff it out. My guess is that some massive overreaction by the mullahs or some acute internal stress will be required to activate organized resistance.

We can do much to help form this resistance so as to be ready for when the moment comes. For example, we could be beaming a TV feed full of news from a satellite perched over Tehran. We can be helping them communicate covertly with each other. We can be squirreling them out of the country for training. We can help them in many ways prepare for their moment.