Posted on 01/06/2006 11:18:04 AM PST by Impeach98
Military strike against Iran may be necessary
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Posted: January 6, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
In his Fact and Comment editorial in this week's Forbes magazine, Steve Forbes says out loud what many political insiders are thinking: Military action may be the only option left on the table to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program.
Forbes recognizes that the options left for the United States and its allies to stop the Iranians from developing a nuclear arsenal are few and far between.
And there should be little doubt that when, and if, Iran develops a nuclear weapon it would not hesitate to use it against either the United States or our allies.
Forbes argument has been strengthened by the news out of Iran this week – all of it very grim.
On Tuesday, Iran announced it would restart its nuclear fuel research program, determined to resume uranium enrichment – a process that would allow Iran to produce fuel for nuclear weapons.
Iran had suspended the program in November 2003 only after satellite photographs had revealed nuclear development sites in the Iranian cities of Arak and Natanz.
Leaders of Western nations have expressed outrage over the resumption of Iran's nuclear program. If Iran doesn't accede to their demands, representatives of European governments have threatened to ask the U.N. Security Council to look into the matter.
The mullahs in Tehran must be shaking in their turbans.
But the situation is much worse than what the Iranians have openly admitted to.
In the past 48 hours, British news outlets have reported on a leaked 55-page intelligence report that indicates that the Iranian regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been secretly working to build a nuclear arsenal.
The British newspaper, the Guardian, says the report cites 16 Russian and 30 Chinese front companies that are at least partly owned by their respective governments which are helping Iran obtain the weaponry materials it needs on the black market.
That might suggest that those European diplomats will meet resistance on any "Shame on Iran" resolution at the U.N. Security Council, where both China and Russia are permanent members and would almost certainly veto any resolution hostile to the Iranian regime, strengthening my argument that the United Nations is a gutless organization (not to mention one with a horrifying history of corruption).
European intelligence reports also indicate that Iran is working to develop missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload with a reach extending into Europe and Israel.
Such news must be particularly terrifying to Israel, America's strongest ally in the Middle East.
In October of last year, Iranian President Ahmadinejad called for the nation of Israel to be "wiped off the map." A nuclear strike is just one way the Iranian leader could get his wish, and in doing so earn the respect and admiration from millions of Islamic militants around the globe.
"Anyone who signs a treaty which recognizes the entity of Israel means he has signed the surrender of the Muslim world," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.
Ahmadinejad's view of a war with the West is alleged to have involved direct action against the United States. Several of those taken hostage in the awful 444-day long Iranian hostage crisis claim that Ahmadinejad was one of the hostage takers. The Iranian government denies these charges.
No matter what his involvement was with the hostage crisis, Ahmadinejad's view of history is just as twisted as his political beliefs.
He says that the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazi regime during World War II, is a "myth" and a "fairytale."
The Iranian state news agency, IRNA, reported this week that the response to Ahmadinejad's statements has been "positive."
The fundamentalists who rule Iran do not view co-existence with the West as an acceptable outcome under their perverse interpretation of Islam.
These radicals will continue to support, harbor, fund and embrace the most horrific and gruesome terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in the hopes of bringing the civilized world to its knees.
And one of the means by which they hope to accomplish their goals is by finalizing a nuclear program that has been under way for several years. If they had the opportunity, Iranian agents wouldn't hesitate to detonate a suitcase containing a nuclear device in an American city, killing untold thousands, if not millions.
When President Bush identified Iran as one of the central members of "the axis of evil" he was dead-on right.
The question before us is whether we will wait for yet another meaningless resolution from the United Nations.
Or, do we have the will to strike first to save our allies and ourselves?
If we un-spool the last of our political options and Iran's nuclear program continues, then we have no choice but to take pre-emptive military action to blow Iran's bomb-making facilities back into the Stone Age.
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Melanie Morgan is chairman of the conservative, pro-troop non-profit organization Move America Forward and is co-host of the "Lee Rodgers & Melanie Morgan Show" on KSFO 560 AM in San Francisco.
Just to add another wrinkle...
...if you were an extremely religious person and the leader of a country (and thought you were doing your god's will by building a nuclear arsenal), would you obey your god or would you acquiesce to the demands of foreign infidel leaders?
Candy-gram for Mullah?
Unfortunately, the people who think that way in Iran don't have much power in that country. The mullahs have a stranglehold on all the political and military power in Iran, and I've read some articles indicating that they think they can actually win a military confrontation with the US. Of course, they will lose if they get in a military fight with us, but they may be crazy enough to try it.
April crude oil now up to $65.30 on Russian natural gas dispute and growing concern about military action against Iran.
LOL! Like happened with Iraq. We know how that ended.
Its a lose -lose situation for the USA. How long can we afford to put it off?
The instant we attack Iran we will come under attack from Europe ,Russia,our own liberals. All who agreed that Iraq had WMD then denied them after we attacked.
The UN is useless,Most of Europe is useless and frightened of the Islamics in their midst.Our Military isnt large enough to take out all of those who need to be taken on.
Why attack Iran for Nukes without cleaning out the nest in N. Korea that is feeding on them. China wants us to attack N. Korea so they can attack Taiwan. That prick in Venezuala needs his tension adjusted also.
All of these situations wouldnt exist if Europe had helped us in Iraq. Those opposed to Democracy have seen that the US and Israel are the only two countries in the world they have to defeat. The others are already defeated.
While I don't agree with all that you say, you have good points.
We can't just "Take out Iran" with nukes. For one thing the drop in oil production would hurt the whole world.
Currently we don't have the men or equipment staged for an invasion, and little sign that we are building up.
You need to accumulate a lot more fact base about Iran.
Know this: they are not Arabs. They don't like Arabs.
Russia,China and Euro-squats have and are furnishing them with nuclear wherewithall. They have a prodigious military capability but not enough horses to hold anything for long. They have the most educated intelligentsia in the middle-east and those people have no desire to see the goose that laid the golden egg strap on a war helmut. Their theocratic regime is hanging by a thread. They would be the greatest power in the Middle East if not the row if they become our ally.The kind of nuclear confrontation your envision would destroy them too...and they know it. Get out and read more.
Shi'ite happens..
Works for me. Methinks terrorism would stop very quickly. Then again, we do not have the political will. If I were W, this mess would have been overwith three years ago.
Doesn't it seem like the Iranians are trying to bait us with all their rhetoric ?
Note that Russia and China have a hand in this. Maybe the Cold War is not over.
Officers at the Pentagon call them a "paper tiger." Even in a sneak attack, they couldn't advance 50 miles into Iraq against our ground forces and air power. They have second-rate weapons and use WWI ground force tactics. You might want to "get out and read more" yourself.
Who cares what the Europeans and liberals think? This is about national survival. Besides, Israel will strike Iran anyway so we may as well give them a hand and completely destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program.
"tension adjusted" - LOL!! I love that phrase.
All of these situations wouldnt exist if Europe had helped us in Iraq. Those opposed to Democracy have seen that the US and Israel are the only two countries in the world they have to defeat. The others are already defeated.
Agreed, with the possible exception of Britain. The Eastern Europeans are also somewhat with us, but their contribution is and would be mostly symbolic.
That all being said, you lance the biggest boil first. Iran is that boil, followed by NK (though if we're already in the area, getting rid of Syria as a base and supporter for terrorism has great appeal). Venezuela would be last - no nukes, and no outright support for terrorists (yet). BTW, if you get rid of Iran, the others might actually take us more seriously, thereby staving off one or more wars. Of course, this requires Congressional approval and money, plus the time needed to get the appropriate forces in place.
No one is suggesting turning an entire country into glass. We bombed the snot out of Germany and Japan, declared Marshall law, and rebuilt our adversary's economies.
I guess there are too many history-deprived folks.
Does it ever occur to China, to just give Iran several atomic bombs? These bombs could be transported into Iran.
In this day and age, with Iran's dealings with Russia ,China and Pakistan, I find it hard to believe Iran doesn't already have a couple of atomic weapons and a local delivery system. - tom
China is not going to give nuclear weapons to a bunch of crazy people in Iran. They might turn around and use them to assists muslim factions in China. If Iran already has nukes we would very probably know about it because of intelligence gathering work done by the CIA, Mossad, France, or one of our other allies. At this point, we have to assume that Iran doesn't have nukes and inaction is by far the greatest risk.
"Note that Russia and China have a hand in this. Maybe the Cold War is not over."
All countries have ambitions to be at the top, this has been the path of human history for as long as its been written down. Think of playing king of the hill and we are at the top, with the Europeans, Russia and China trying to push us off.
Then why is China helping Iran develope nuclear weapons?
Iran could use those weapons on China also.
If Iran gets nuclear weapons and uses them it will be on Israel or the US and not China. - tom
If I were in charge of strategy at the point when they had crossed the final line, the game would be played something like this:
1. Destroy all TV transmitters in the country (conventional weapons)
2. Broadcast on the recently vacated channels a "notification of impending nuclear bombardment due to unacceptable regime". Start a 48 hour countdown bug in the corner. With tenths of seconds. Tell the people that if they can remove the existing government on their own, the country will be spared.
3. Blow the hell out of anything that moves away from known nuclear production sites.
4. At the zero hour, nuke the highest threat site on the list. Reset the counter to +6 hours and repeat until regime change has occurred.
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