&%#*&*ing Iran!

[RoadKingLarry]

Yeah .... a well protected program to develop a nuclear bomb and feints at closing the Strait of Hormuz is "sitting still."

Not to mention routinely stating a desire if not an intent to wipe Israel off the map.

I'm not suggesting we should invade Iran but ignoring them probably isn't the best idea.

[TommyGunn]

Preemptive war then?

I was thinking more along the lines of saying "pretty please, stop being evil."
Seriously I don't know about "preemptive war."  I don't think we have the cajones or the $$$ for that.  I'm also not sure it's really necessary since a smaller number of military strikes might possibly be enough to knock Iran's nuke program into stall mode.  
I also think maybe Israel might do something.  Interestingly, Russia is now becoming concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
I really hate the idea of yet another action .... but I don't think Iran is going to stop just because people are wagging their fingers at them and yelling "naughty naughty."
The fissile material is the tough part.  Once they have it the bomb is a cinch.
And they will have the BOMB if they're not stopped.
Remember; India got the bomb and we didn't even know they were developing one. They lit one off and the CIA goes; "what the heck was THAT? ? ? ? ?"
Iran is just being a little  .... cruder in the upswing.

I have no good solutions.   Just fears that Iran's leaders are nutty enough so that it won't be like it was when the Soviets got one.  They were ruthless and expansionistic and evil but they were also sane and knew what the consequences of a nuclear war would be.

[lupinus]

Preemptive war then?

I'd really rather not and hope it can be stopped without that. I don't think we need another boots on the ground war right now, can't afford it, and it'd likely just be another half assed politician micro managed fluster cluck that doesn't solve much anyway. I think we should be doing what we can to stop them though.

[kgbsquirrel]

I'd really rather not and hope it can be stopped without that. I don't think we need another boots on the ground war right now, can't afford it, and it'd likely just be another half assed politician micro managed fluster cluck that doesn't solve much anyway. I think we should be doing what we can to stop them though.

Tomahawk saturation of their development facilities and some B2 delivered 30,000 lb bunker busters in a few key locations, but no actual troops then?

[lupinus]

Tomahawk saturation of their development facilities and some B2 delivered 30,000 lb bunker busters in a few key locations, but no actual troops then?

IF, and I'm not advocating we jump into war like we did with Iraq, we go to war with Iran? Yeah, something like that. Take out every military facility we can locate on a map, bunker bust or otherwise blow up every nuclear facility we can locate. Anything that flies, floats, or sinks blown out of the sky and out of the water. Take out their entire military infrastructure and effectively neuter them.

If ground forces are needed, use them strategically where they make the most sense. Most importantly let the military fight the damn thing without government micro management, get it done, and get them home without having to spend another decade half assed pacifying the country, nation building things that will just get blown up again, and sinking money we don't have into it.

[MillCreek]

Tomahawk saturation of their development facilities and some B2 delivered 30,000 lb bunker busters in a few key locations, but no actual troops then?

If it comes to that, I think this is pretty much Israel's plan, minus the B-2 bombers.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

If it comes to that, I think this is pretty much Israel's plan, minus the B-2 bombers.

lend lease a couple b2's?

[Blakenzy]

To hell with Israel man. All they do is use and abuse their "special" relationship with the US. If we did lend B2's t them they would probably take the tech and sell it to China.

Check this out: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.0a48dca029ea3800c6e534eab94e8d0d.cb1&show_article=1

Not to mention routinely stating a desire if not an intent to wipe Israel off the map.

They actually never said that. It's a complete mangling of translation. Do a little research. The real quote is no where as inflammatory as that.

I don't see how any objective person can say that Iran is the one provoking the US, when it is the US that has military forces completely surrounding Iran on both sides, and it is American leaders who are constantly yapping about commanding Iran what to do and what not to do under threat of overt military aggression. We have already completely violated their air space and we are imposing sanctions that threaten to destroy their top industry and send their national economy down the drain. And I'm very suspicious that we have played a hand in the sabotaging and assassinations in that country. How the hell is all that not picking a fight?

And let's cut the "WMD" charade already. This is the second time we are being driven to START a war by lies and exaggerations. Leon Panetta even said that Iran is no where near making a bomb in the near future, nor is it pursuing one at present, only that they might "someday" choose to do so (in his opinion). IAEA reports show no indication of a military uranium enrichment program.

A war with Iran is not about protecting American lives, it is about eliminating a competing sovereign nation from the playing field so we don't have to negotiate with them to get our way in the resource dense region. It's all about power grabbing. I am sorry, we are NOT the good guys on this one.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

They actually never said that. It's a complete mangling of translation. Do a little research. The real quote is no where as inflammatory as that.


really?

"Ahmadinejad quoted a remark from Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, who said that Israel "must be wiped out from the map of the world."

The president then said: "And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism," according to a quote published by IRNA"



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    RIA Novosti

World
Iran warns it will 'wipe out' Israel if attacked
16:56 15/04/2008
TEHRAN, April 15 (RIA Novosti) - A senior Iranian commander warned on Tuesday that his military will wipe Israel off the world map if the Zionists attack the Islamic Republic.

"We must defend our state borders, and should Israel take any hostile action, we are ready to eliminate Israel from the world scene," Deputy Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said.

He said that the Iranian army is on constant alert due to the presence of "foreign forces" in the region.

"It is ready to decisively repel any attack," he said.

Ashtiani's comments echo President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's infamous 2005 "World Without Zionism" speech, in which he railed against the Israelis' occupation of Jerusalem.

Iran's defense minister said last Monday the world needs a missile shield to protect against threats from Israel and the United States.

Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said U.S. claims that the European missile shield would defend against Iran's missiles were nothing but a sham.

He said Tehran was open to cooperation with every country except Israel, which Iran does not recognize, to ensure stability and security in the Middle East.
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-10-26/world/ahmadinejad_1_israel-jerusalem-day-islamic-world?_s=PM:WORLD

[Blakenzy]

Well CNN, as well as other corporate chains, often times acts more as a .gov propaganda outlet than an independent news hub. There is controversy surrounding the translation and interpretation of those October 25, 2005 statements. Regarding the alleged threat/promise to "wipe Israel off the map" (or as CNN interpreted it "Iranian Leader: Wipe out Israel"):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sedaei/the-biggest-lie-told-to-t_b_70248.html

Let's analyze what Ahmadinejad said. His exact words in Farsi were as follows: "Emam goft een rezhim-e eshghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzegar mahv shavad."

The correct translation of the statement is as follows: "Imam said this occupying regime in Jerusalem must vanish from the page of times."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12790.htm

It's becoming clear. The statements of the Iranian President have been reflected by the media in a manipulated way. Iran's President betokens the removal of the regimes, that are in power in Israel and in the USA, to be possible aim for the future. This is correct. But he never demands the elimination or annihilation of Israel. He reveals that changes are potential. The Shah-Regime being supported by the USA in its own country has been vanquished. The eastern governance of the Soviet Union collapsed. Saddam Hussein's dominion drew to a close. Referring to this he voices his aspiration that changes will also be feasible in Israel respectively in Palestine. He adduces Ayatollah Khomeini referring to the Shah-Regime who in this context said that the regime (meaning the Shah-Regime) should be removed.

http://www.fox19.com/story/16401983/reality-check-was-ben-wrong-about-ahmadinejad-saying-he-would-wipe-israel-off-the-map

"Ahmadinejad did not say he was going to wipe Israel off the map because no such idiom exists in Persian,"  says Juan Cole, a Middle East specialist at the University of Michigan.

Cole says that when more correctly translated, the Iranian President said, "he hoped its regime, i.e., a Jewish-Zionist state occupying Jerusalem, would collapse."

Jonathan Steele, a columnist for the left-leaning Guardian newspaper in London, says it this way: "The Iranian President was quoting an ancient statement by Iran's first Islamist leader, the late Ayatollah Khomeini, that 'this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time."

But not everyone agrees with that.

The only thing I think can be concluded from his speech, for certain, is that Iran's leaders have a lot of criticism and no love for either the Israeli or American Governments. He only makes reference to the "Regimes", not the people or nations. The mistranslated "wiping off the map"  statement that many want to use as conclusive proof that Iran will develop a nuclear weapon solely to go on a suicide mission to harm US and Israeli citizens is bogus in that interpretation. It is no where nearly conclusive enough to justify any type of "preemptive" aggression on them, yet everyone keeps repeating it as if it were the smoking gun in the room that gives us the moral highground to go on a military escapade.