Im sure you would think very diferrently if you where speaking german and working in a slave camp

This is a comment that betrays the typical ignorant American attitude. — sigh —

Dear boy: in the world outside your US borders, the US *is* largely seen as a threath and has been so for decades. But the typical world-weary American seems absolutely ignorant about that.

You all seem to think that you are generously bringing the absolute “good” to people, who are all craving to receive it. You are completely ignorant of the fact that most people don’t *want* your “goodness”, if alone because you force-feed it to people perfectly happy with their own ways of things.

It is this ignorance that is brought back to you in the shape of body bags comming from hell holes such as Vietnam and Iraq where your soldiers end up paying the bill of your naivete. Don’t you really get it?

Really, I love Americans but they are so unbelievably naive and ignorant about the world around them. If you think your country was never threathening anyone up to 9/11, you are incredibily naive.

Today everyone is griping about Iran. Tomorrow, if the mainstream media portrays Israel as being the bad guy, then everyone will get distracted and ignore Iran so they can start griping about Israel. And the same will be true if the media portrays England, Canada, or the Magic friggin Kingdom as the bad guy. Doesn’t matter who it is..If Rupert Murdoch says you’re bad, then by golly that’s the gospel.

If you’re not a billionaire, the closest thing to an “ally” you have is your neighbor. All of this fear-mongering, hate-mongering, war-mongering and blood lust is exactly what the hidden script writers want…Divide and conquer.

1. The Hezbollah is a relatively small organization, and even if every weapon they have in Lebanon “would flood into Iraq and Afghanistan“‘ it will be a negligible addition to what’s already there; besides — whatever the Hezbollah has, it came from Iran to begin with.

2. Once the US leaves Iraq, it’s only a matter of time until the “fragile unity” collapses; with or without an Iranian conflict. The people there don’t really want, not can they sustain a true democracy.

3. Actually, most of Iran’s nuclear facilities are quite isolated from the dense population areas.

4. “the disruption of the world’s oil traffic would bring on worldwide depression” this is one of the most baseless, grim prophecies I heard in a long time.

5. Last, yet most important: the MAD strategy only works for regimes that at least semi-rational. Unlike with the Russians, you are dealing here with people who sanctify death and suicide.
You CANNOT ignore the possibility that the Iranian leaders are willing to trade their life for the opportunity to become the Shahids who will forever be remembered and glorified as those who annihilated the state of the Jews.

The sad truth is that we have no choice, but we CANNOT LIVE with Iranian nuclear weapons.

Peace.

When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.

The fact that the Saudies are cooperating, being a mostly business-motivated regime, is an indication that they recognize the danger of these fanatics, and the damage they cause the whole Muslim world. And if they recognize it — it will be foolish for the Western world to ignore.

Lastly, Col. Phillips, much as I tend to agree with most of your analysis, you have one very basic, fundamental flaw there: 9/11, Pearl Harbor, etc., are NOT valid scenarios for comparison; their thinking is NOT the same as that of the Western world. You cannot predict their response based on what the America people did. They have very different morals. They will slaughter their own if it servers their purpose; they will cheer you as a savior and kiss your feet as long as they get what they want — but then they’ll stab your back when they get a chance to do it. They respect power, and they view compassion and leniency as weakness.

They are constantly lying and cheating, just to get their way. Ahmadinijad’s conduct throughout this crisis is a perfect demo.

If you want to take valid scenarios to learn from, take this:
The Palestinians were ever so thankful for the American’s help — money and hardware — but they went out to the streets to cheer and celebrate when the jets hit the towers on 9/11. Remember that.

Saudi Arabia is reported to have given Israel the green light to fly through its airspace during a raid against Iran. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that the Saudis are using their oil money to entice Russia into banning sales to Iran of advanced surface to air missile in return for an arms deal worth up to $11.1 billion that would include purchase of Russia’s most advanced air defense system, the S-400.
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What a crock. The Russians never intended to sell these things to the Iranians or they would have done it by now. The Russians were using the news of this long protracted sale as leverage with the U.S. to end missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Over the long haul, perhaps the hardest question to answer is how Iran’s people would respond. They might rise against their own regime on the basis that it could not protect them against Israel and had sullied their country’s good name in the international community. After all, there is clear evidence of enormous discontent among the Iranians with their current rulers.
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Why would the Iranian people will overthrow their government in the wake of a strike, when most believe Iran has a right to nuclear power? The only people indulging in this wishful thinking are people in favor of a strike.

The Green Revolution hardly speaks for the entire population, and in the wake of a strike, could rally the governments support in rural areas, while giving the Revolutionary Guard and police an excuse to crack down and bust heads.