Posted on 03/26/2007 4:07:58 AM PDT by Zakeet
Advocates of engagement with Tehran often claim that the Islamic Republic long ago shed its revolutionary pretensions in favor of becoming a "status quo" power. They might want to share that soothing wisdom with the families of the 15 British sailors and marines kidnapped Friday in Iraqi territorial waters by the naval forces of the elite, and aptly named, Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
In an earlier day, what Iran has done would have been universally regarded as an act of war. It was a premeditated act, carried out only hours before Britain voted to stiffen sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program in a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution. Iran captured a smaller detachment of British forces in the same waters in 2004, claiming they had strayed across the Iranian border.
[Snip]
It is worth recalling, however, that Iran was at its most diplomatically pliant after the United States sank much of Tehran's navy after Iran tried to disrupt oil traffic in the Persian Gulf in the late 1980s. Regimes that resort to force the way Iran does tend to be respecters of it. It is also far from certain that Western military strikes against Revolutionary Guards would move the Iranian people to rally to their side: Iranians know only too well what their self-anointed leaders are capable of.
Most important, the world should keep in mind that Iran has undertaken this latest military aggression while it is still a conventional military power. That means that Britain and the U.S. can still respond today with the confidence that they maintain military superiority. That confidence will vanish the minute Iran achieves its goal of becoming a nuclear power. Who knows what the revolutionaries in Tehran will then be capable of.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
This statement could just as easily be made about our dozens of brave warriors rotting in U.S. briggs awaiting their military courts martial for "war crimes". These are strange times we live in, Western society is no longer cohesive and rational. We are self-destructing, and if things don't turn around soon there won't be much left worth fighting for. If you look carefully, you can see the frenzied sharks circling the troubled waters of Western man, waiting to go in for the kill. The 'sharks' of Islam, socialism, secularism, paganism and globalism smell the weakness and are poised to devour us. What's really troubling though is that while we are losing faith and unity we are at the same time strengthening the circling sharks with our new-age religion of political correctness, multiculturalism and worship of self. The modern-day "trinity" of man's foolishness.
Well said.
Nah, no evidence whatsoever. The mere fact that the HMS Cornwall and a hovering British helo stood by and did nothing to help their Marines certainly doesn't mean they were abandoned; it just means they were "temporarily left alone to fend for themselves". Blair's negotiating skills will save them; it's always better to talk than fight, it's the new PC way don't ya know.
Iran is picking a fight, and will not be satisfied until a western power attacks it in order for it to play the victim and call for world jihad against the West. Britain is now in the "educational" seat. It should be left there until they well understand what we in the US, at least the sentient half, already understand.
Then, we can join forces and wipe the jihadists off the face of this planet.
Thank you... I am not alone! I have modified my position a slight bit. See my post above this one.
LLS
I dont want to sound callous and I understand your personal reasons for not wishing to wage war on Iran, but what you said is not really true. We were quite ready and willing to annhilate both Germany and Japan if they refused to surrender. I think that Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Dresden pretty much proves my point. Heck, we fire-bombed Dresden even after the German's were defeated, but we wanted to make sure they had nothing left to fight with or for. Complete defeat and demoralization of the Japanese and German people was the intent, and that's exactly what we did.
The survival of America and the preservation of American lives back then were more valuable than the lives of our enemies. Unfortunately, that's not quite true today. As i see it, we can wait for the Iranian people to overthrow their dictators while we watch those dictators build a nuclear arsenal, or we can take care of the problem now and ensure our own survival. I know which scenario I'd prefer.
No they are probbly working at Jimmy Carters timetable. Lets see, that was 444 days and it took a real President to make it happen.
Wrong...the plane was returned.I know this for fact.
Source please.
Well, is the free world a paper tiger as the Muzzies believe??? Now is the time to fish or cut bait.
I have only found that they argeed to return it to us and we paid them $34,567 for the costs associated with the downing of the aircraft. Wikipedia says the disassembled plane was released on July 3, 2001. If that is true, I stand corrected. Thanks.
According to them, everything is Bush's fault. Every bad thing that happens in the world is an opportunity to criticize the administration and attempt to grab more power.
They have chosen sides in the war in the middle east. If the US and her allies win, the Democrats lose.
The absolute last thing the Dems want is for the US to invade Iran, because we will demolish them militarily. We will also throw their terrorist network into disarray. We will spread their forces and resources thinner.
Their ability to fund and organize insurgencies in Iraq and Afganistan will weaken, at least for a time.
They are afraid that the conflict will expand, because any successes will hurt them in the 2008 elections, and no one trusts the Dems to win a war, and if the war starts looking winnable, the Dems will lose their support among swing voters quickly.
If Gen. Petraeus keeps it going, it may turn out that the swing voters ditching us was a very good thing in the long run. Just sticks in the craw now.
Don't get me wrong. I'm calling for a war against Iran at least since 20 years... and now more than ever.
I also see no other realistic alternative to a war. But a war does not equal genocide.
We didn't kill all Iraqis, Afghans, Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese or Germans. Defeating the enemy has priority and a total war as waged against Japan and Germany has it's merits.
But once defeated we tried (successfully) to turn their societies into free, democratic and capitalistic ones. That's what makes the USA so special.
If (and it's pretty likely) a war against Iran is coming, we will bomb and destroy their WMD, military and petro-chemical infrastructure. We will kill their leadership and their agents. Civilians will die... This is part of war's reality but certainly worth if the Islamic Regime of Iran can be crushed.
I agree, Iran needs to be dealt with and soon, the free world simply cannot let them develop WMD. With every passing day they get a little closer to their goal and we get a little less willing to fight them.
Dang, I was at work and never really looked in detail. I am sorry!
LLS
Damn well said!
LLS
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