We’re Losing World War IV ... How to get back to the road to victory.

National Review ^ | August 4, 2006 | By Barbara Lerner

[aculeus]

The Shiite mullahs who rule Iran and have seized the leadership of the Islamofascist war against us are as dangerous an enemy as America has ever faced. [snip]

In the 1980s, Iran’s mullahs created Hezbollah, a Shiite Arab terrorist group in Lebanon, and used it to drive us from that country the way they drove us from Iran, but this time, they didn’t just humiliate us and mock our impotence; they tortured and murdered our embassy people in Beirut, and blew up 241 of our marines.

[snip]

We should not wait, passively, for the Iranians to unveil their surprise. We should light up the skies with our own surprise: a massive aerial bombardment that wipes out most of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and decimates the ranks of its mullahs as well as those of the Revolutionary Guard and Basij forces that keep them in power ... Retired air force Lt. General Tom McInerney already has a plan to wipe out most of Iran’s nuclear facilities from the air. As I’ve argued, we should augment it with additional targets and let fly, as soon as possible, with no forewarning, for maximum effect. Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu, one of the few who argues in public for a similarly bold course sums it up this way:

By waiting for a first strike we are put in a position of playing a retaliation game after we have already endured unacceptable losses in population and perception. Once America and Israel are seen as weak enough to defeat, then the international jackals will all join in for the kill. This is what our enemies hope to accomplish…We face a crisis of major proportions. Hesitation may be fatal.

He’s right. The time to act is now.

[jonrick46]

It is from Sun Tzu's The Art of War, written around 500 BC It was the main text of battle strategy for the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. I am sure that the Hezbollah is using some of its tactics today.

[Calpernia]

That's it!

Thank you.

[fso301]

>>>Had he not committed suicide

That hasn't been proven.

Technically correct. Perhaps Eva shot Hitler and then took her poison. Unlikely, but possible.

[Calpernia]

What makes me curious about that story is Stalin had 6 autopsies done on Hitler to ensure he was dead.

That sounds paranoid. Paranoid trying to hide something? Don't know.

[dmartin]

Easy. The seat of decadent Western civilization in Tehran: Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I was thinking it was a Starbucks.

[lancer]

This is WWIII and it started 911.

The title really doesn't matter, but the people who were kept in Teheran for 444 days (1979) or the 243 Marines who died in Beirut in 1983 -- both acts by Iran -- would probably not agree with your 9/11 date. This war started a long time ago; most of us just didn't realize it until 9/11. Hell, some Americans and most Europeans don't realize it yet.

[JasonC]

Wait for the Iranian nuke shot, grasshopper.

[MNJohnnie]

Hypothetical Military Match Up. USA vrs the Iran/Syrian Axis

Even if you multiply the CIA facts by a factor of the 10 on the absurd notion that they are successfully "hiding" their real military from us, the Iran/Syria Axis comes NO where near the US ALONE in Military power.

I am not even going to bother putting Israel and the NATO countries on our side. The scale all ready tips so heavily to the US there is no reason to pile on.

This is JUST a comparison between the US and the Iran/Syrian Axis. For fun I will include Egypt and the Saudis as part of the Iran/Syrian Axis to show how absurd the "It's World War Three" babbling is.

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_states/united_states_military.html


USA.


Military branches:
Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard; note - Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age; 17 years of age with written parental consent (2006)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 67,742,879
females age 18-49: 67,070,144 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 54,609,050
females age 18-49: 54,696,706 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 2,143,873
females age 18-49: 2,036,201 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$518.1 billion (FY04 est.) (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.06% (FY03 est.) (2005 est.)

***Snip***

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/iran/iran_military.html

Iran.

Iran Military - 2006
http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/iran/iran_military.html
SOURCE: 2006 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Military branches:
Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Qods Force (special operations), and Basij Force (Popular Mobilization Army); Law Enforcement Forces (2004)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; soldiers as young as 9 were recruited extensively during the Iran-Iraq War; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 18,319,545
females age 18-49: 17,541,037 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 15,665,725
females age 18-49: 15,005,597 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 862,056
females age 18-49: 808,044 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$4.3 billion (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.3% (2003 est.)


****Snip*****

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/syria/syria_military.html

Syria

Military branches:
Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 30 months (18 months in the Syrian Arab Navy); women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 4,356,413
females age 18-49: 4,123,339 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 3,453,888
females age 18-49: 3,421,558 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 225,113
females age 18-49: 211,829 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
5.9% (FY00)

***Snip*****
http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/egypt/egypt_military.html

Egypt

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for conscript military service; three-year service obligation (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 18,347,560
females age 18-49: 17,683,904 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 15,540,234
females age 18-49: 14,939,378 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 802,920
females age 18-49: 764,176 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$2.44 billion (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.4% (2004)

******Snip****

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/saudi_arabia/saudi_arabia_military.html

Saudi Arabia

Military branches:
Land Forces (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 7,648,999
females age 18-49: 5,417,922 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 6,592,709
females age 18-49: 4,659,347 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 247,334
females age 18-49: 234,500 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$18 billion (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
10% (2002)

[JasonC]

Yeah, but it doesn't include the part about half the US populace being traitors, the buckets of manure dumped on the heads of anyone advocating doing anything about any of it, the weariness of the hawks, the imminent victory of the left at the polls, etc. We are not, in fact, going to do a gosh darn thing. Except vote for some slap on the wrist economic sanctions and not scold Israel too much. We will be called ruthless warmongers for those offenses, and then Iran will test its new nukes. And we will sit here and watch, and lots of people will say "I told you so", but nobody will actually get off their ass.

[hosepipe]

[ The Cold War wasn't about destroying communism. It was about stopping its expantion, which it did. ]

WRONG.... Communism is socialism which has and is progressing rapidly thru URP and the United States.. (SSA) Social Security is pure socialism.. and SSA is the tip of the U.S. socialist iceberg.. World socialists have always been for a World Republic of Socialist States to be morphed into a World Democracy.. Some say a America EU is planned for Mexico, Canada and the U.S... World socialism is advancing not retreating..
---------------------------------------

Democracy is the road to socialism. Karl Marx

Democracy is indispensable to socialism. The goal of socialism is communism. V.I. Lenin

The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism.- Karl Marx
---------------------------------------

America is becoming a totally socialist country.. Almost is now..
Who's winning?... The Capitulation of Socialism is well advanced(China,India)..

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Or should we wait until Iran nukes Israel?

In a word, yes. That or Israel can defend herself. Either or.

Maybe you believe that we should send ground troops into Japan, since North Korea is threatening Japan. Never forget that Pakistan is threatening India with nuclear annihilation. Which side to choose on that?

[neverdem]

This place would have been basically ungovernable back then -- especially when you consider that even to this day in our candy-@ssed, feminized culture there are still about twice as many firearms in the U.S. as there are people.

The United States is estimated to have between 238 million and 276 million firearms. With roughly 83–96 guns per 100 people, the United States is approaching a statistical level of one gun per person. That's from page one of a pdf link. I have no idea about how they derive the numbers. I have seen an estimated 280 million firearms in the USA more than a few times, so it may be old now.

[FightThePower!]

So is the suprise a nuclear attack against Israel or the US? Is it a test of their first bomb?

[ladyinred]

OMG! The sky is falling again. Could it be this reporter is a member of the MSM??????

[budwiesest]

Mammy or Pappy needs to slap their youngin's (Iran and Syria) on the side of the head for fostering their retarded son's (hezbolla) attack on brother Israel. What a screwed up family. If I didn't know better, I'd thought I was watching COPS or Jerry Springer. Lately, the whole middle east resembles a trailer up on blocks.

Is ma and pa on a cruise, or something?

[budwiesest]

In a word, yes. That or Israel can defend herself. Either or.

What kind of mother are you, really? Your daughter (Israel-'herself'-your words) is to be sacrificed to what end?

[budwiesest]

America is becoming a totally socialist country.. Almost is now..

Amen, brother! Here's why: It is believed that it is cheaper/more efficient to keep the masses in line under an intolerant leftist/liberal regime than to allow individuals freedom and expect them to somehow bring into fruition some sort of workable society. An unacceptable gamble, in otherwords.[screw the Founders]

Given the significant investments in statism already present, any leanings toward individual rights are seen as repugnant among those who blissfully parrot words like liberty and freedom - while voting for those who would no sooner take Lee Greenwood out-back and put a bullet in him for singing "God Bless The USA", were it to hail the rights of individuals, rather than those of the state.

"God bless the hard-working son-of-a-b*tch who can barely make ends meet, given the high cost of gas due to the lack of balls, in the USA" is how the song ought to go.

Unless and until property taxes are abolished, I'll just go merrily along as a co-owner with the state in all of my affairs, while voting against them at every turn.

[grey_whiskers]

I don't care if you call it WWIII, WWIV, or WW 3.5a revision 12 build 1.01. service pack 2

There, all fixed.

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

People who think the 12th Imam is hiding in a well somewhere and it will take a nuclear war to coax him from it are more than just one pistashio short of a bakalava. Is it possible to negotiate with such? Definately not.

Have a team of commandos do a HALO drop by the well, pour bacon grease down it, then seal it with cement.

Problem solved.

[hosepipe]

[ Unless and until property taxes are abolished, I'll just go merrily along as a co-owner with the state in all of my affairs, while voting against them at every turn. ]

If you OWN something then how can it be taxed?...
Then its merely renting.. All home owners rent their houses from the state/county and city..

Thats being the mere start of things you don't own.. but rent..