What No One Is Telling You About Our Talks With Iran

PatDollard.com ^ | 30 May, 2007 | Pat Dollard

[Salem]

Watching the pundits discuss our historic meeting with Iran, you would have mostly heard despair at the notion that we have no leverage in these talks, and so therefor why would Iran give on anything? Why would they stop waging war against us in iraq if they have nothing to fear? To all the experts in the media, the whole thing seemed like some grand puzzlement. Was it just an attempt to appease the administration’s domestic critics who have been chiding it for not engaging in diplomacy ( a vaguery if there ever was one ) with the world’s top terrorist? No one you heard from could really quite grasp what was going on.

For some reason, no one told you that just 5 days before Monday’s talks, an entire floating army, with nearly 20,000 men, comprising the world’s largest naval strike force, led by the USS Nimitz and the USS Stennis, and also comprising the largest U.S. Naval armada in the Persian Gulf since 2003, came floating up unnanounced through the Straight of Hormuz, and rested right on Iran’s back doorstep, guns pointed at them. The demonstration of leverage was clear. And it also came on the exact date of the expiration of the 60 day grace period the U.N. had granted Iran.

And it came just a few weeks after Vice President Dick Cheney had swept through the region and delivered a very clear and pointed message to the Saudi King Abdullah and others: George Bush has unequivocally decided to attack Iran’s nuclear, military and economic infrastructure if they do not abandon their drive for military nuclear capability. Plain and simple. Iran heard the message as well, and although a lack of leverage may seem clear to America’s retired military tv talking heads, it is not so clear to the government in Tehran.

The message to both Iran and Syria is that if the talks in Baghdad fail, the military option is ready to go.

The administration is almost freakishly confident, in marked contrast to media reports like the one featuring Newt Gingrich’s attack on the President below. The U.S. is in the midst of another dipolomatic surge through the region to bolster allies for the final showdown with Iran. Moqtada Al Sadr has sent signals he may be ready to break with Iran. And, frankly, the military turnaround in Al Anbar province is of greater strategic significance than the increase in U.S. casualties this month. In addition, the surge is still not entirely deployed, and whole key neighborhoods of Baghdad have yet to be entered. While John McCain was being mocked for having to wear a flak jacket in a Baghdad market, the bigger story was that his son, a Marine newly deployed to the Al Anbar province, and a frontline grunt at that, was more likely than not to never see a shot fired in an area that until just weeks ago was called “the most dangerous place on earth”.

Oh, and preparations are under way for the construction of new U.S. airbases in Kurdistan, so we are not, under any circumstances, giving up a firmbase posture throughout Iraq.

And special props to VP Cheney who had nearly been ordered by his doctors to not even make the first trip. A compromise was had and he flew with a physician. He is preparing for a trip to Iran’s various northern neighbors like Uzbekistan and Khazekstan to shore up our position for offensives from the north.

We want to have them entirely surrounded.

Video Of Iran’s Surprise Guests: [Video]

[cripplecreek]

All I know is that we gave them the meeting they wanted and they repaid us by charging American citizens with spying.

[Salem]

  Bush, putting da' squeeze on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Mad Mullahs.

---

AMERICA AT WAR
At Salem the Soldier's Homepage ~
Islam, a Religion of Peace®? Some links...  by backhoe
Translated Pre-War IRAQ Documents  by jveritas
Mohammed, The Mad Poet Quoted....  by PsyOp
"PLAES DO NOT TOCH THE WAR"  by AnnaZ
The Clash of Ideologies - A Review

"...It's time we recognized the nature of the conflict. It's total war and we are all involved. Nobody on our side is exempted because of age, gender, or handicap. The Islamofacists have stolen childhood from the world." [FReeper Retief]

"...That the totalitarian force pitted against freedom wears a religious makes this civil war among mankind all the more difficult to engage. Loving freedom as we do, it seems reprehensible to deliberate against a religion. But this is no ordinary religion as it demands absolute obedience of all to their religion at the cost of freedom itself." [FReeper Backtothestreets]

[Salem]

  I forgot. I read this at LittleGreenFootballs first.

[jveritas]

Excellent analysis Salem and I agree 100%.

[Enterprise]

Bump

[ParaVet93]

Salem, thanks for the good news. You have to dig deep in order to find out about these things. I am also heartened by Cindy Sheehan’s bitter resignation, the failure of the “massive spring offensive” by the Taliban to materialize, the recent capture and killings of many Iraqi insurgent leaders, protests against Chavez in Venezuela, etc.

Regarding Iran, a good first step I would like to see immediately is the bombing of some EFP mine production facilities or some insurgent training camps.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Good news

B U M P

[onedoug]

Hmmm.

[doug from upland]

My former son-in-law is on the Nimitz. Godspeed, Josh.

[doug from upland]

Love Pat Dollard’s work.

[Salem]

"I am also heartened by Cindy Sheehan’s bitter resignation...."

You know, some thoughts on Sheehan. I think she is the most high-profile, pathetic example of those on the radical left who feel "sold out" by the Democrat leadership over their "failed" bid to pull the plug on this long war. Thing is we know the Democrat leadership in Washington is just as aware of the imminent threat the U.S. faces on many levels, yet they cynically continue to placate their base with promises of "bringing the troops" home and "stopping Bush" and all the rest of the BS they publicly spout so they can win the White House.

All the time carefully balancing the political game in Washington so the detterance Bush has established in the global arena since 9/11 isn't too degraded. All the while they perpetuate the delusional worldview of the Cindy Sheehan's of the country that bringing down Bush is "just around the corner," while at the same time knowing the U.S. and Israel has to prevail in this monumental conflict.

[Fred Nerks]

We want to have them entirely surrounded.

[Salem]

"My former son-in-law is on the Nimitz. Godspeed, Josh. "

Yes, sir. I remember that. They are all right now on the point of contemporary American history. It is incredible that so few will decide the course of future world history. That is not an exxageration. May they serve well; I know they will!  

[Fred Nerks]

Thing is we know the Democrat leadership in Washington is just as aware of the imminent threat the U.S. faces on many levels, yet they cynically continue to placate their base with promises of "bringing the troops" home and "stopping Bush" and all the rest of the BS they publicly spout so they can win the White House.

Dead on! The left tried this tactic in Australia, it didn't work! (Won't do the Democrats any good either.)

[yldstrk]

Go George Bush! You are one tough hombre! I love it!

[familyop]

"...and so therefor why would Iran give on anything?"

It hasn't.

"Why would they stop waging war against us in iraq if they have nothing to fear?"

They haven't. Someone made it up while writing propaganda for stalling until we run out of revenues for the big bluff. If we want anything really done about Iran, our politicians will have to get a clear messages from large numbers of pro-defense constituents instead of the appeasement demands they're getting from special interest groups (merchants who want to continue with cheap oil today, for one).

[familyop]

After missile tests a few days ago, we know that Iran has missiles that can reach London and the Vatican. That and Iran’s nuclear weapons development should give us some idea of what’s at stake.

S. Korea, U.S. verifying reports on test of new N.K. missile in Iran: source
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1834307/posts
(4,000 kilometer range)

[doug from upland]

Before he left, I told him that he was likely to be part of history again. He was on the ENTERPRISE heading home on 9-11, and they turned the carrier around.

[freekitty]

The left will always eat it’s own.