Posted on 09/20/2006 6:30:14 PM PDT by blam
Iran could cut West's oil supplies in event of war, warns American chief in Gulf
By Alec Russell in Washington
(Filed: 21/09/2006)
Iran could trigger a global terrorist campaign and choke the West's oil supplies in the event of war with America, the top US commander in the region has warned.
In a rare public discussion of how a war with Iran might unfold, Gen John Abizaid, the chief of the US Central Command, gave a sobering assessment of Iran's military potential.
He warned that in a war Iran would rely on unconventional means to challenge America's superiority.
"Number one, they have naval capacity to temporarily block the Straits of Hormuz [the entrance into the Gulf] and interfere with global commerce if they should choose to do so," he said.
"Number two, they've got a substantial missile force that can do a lot of damage to our friends and partners in the region.
"Number three, they've got a pretty robust terrorist surrogate arm that could in the event of hostilities cause problems not only in the Middle East but globally.
And number four, they have a very substantial land army that, while it's not offensively worrying, is certainly capable of conducting asymmetric warfare."
Gen Abizaid's comments came as US and British officials chose to ignore a sulphurous attack by Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech to the UN's General Assembly on Tuesday.
Instead they are reluctantly backing an EU initiative to slow the push for sanctions to allow time to explore a possible diplomatic deal over Iran's uranium enrichment programme.
Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, said the speech was "predictable".
"We're still prepared to take action [sanctions] if Iran refuses to co-operate. But if there was any compliance, we could step back."
I think I'll keep my hurricane gasoline tanks 'topped-off' even during the winter months this year.
Boy, this is sure breaking news...
Hasn't this been a given for about thirty years?
And we could cut Iran's gas supply. I wonder which one of us will hold out longer?
Me too (3mo supply capability, but am working on getting to ~9mo.). Shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks though. ;-)
Meh.
Someone should tell ole Mahmood that it will be much harder to learn the meaning word 'fungible' with GWB's foot lodged in his pooper.
Captain Obvious!
So,,,
We all drive less, turn the thermostats down this winter and prove we don't need their damned oil. Which will be radioactive anyway after we get thru with them.
The U.S. could bite off the head of the serpent conventionally before the serpent knew it had a head.
Thats what they want, the U.S. to regress instead of progress.
What Cgirl is suggesting is living without luxuries, and relying on homegrown sources of energy. This is not regression. Everyone did it during WW2, and often they were quite happy.
No, that's what liberals want us to think they want. They are very clear on what they want:
Just NUKE the bastards and get it over already. It would be kinda hard to press a global war when your capital city just got evaporated!
While I respect Gen John Abizaid I have to ask the question what's the United States chop liver? Number one we've got a much stonger Army then Iran has. Number two we've got a much stronger Air Force then Iran has.Number three we've got a much stronger Navy then Iran has,and number four we've got more butt stomping power on one of our Virginia Class nuclear attack submarines then Iran could even dream about !!!
Proving we can do without their oil is not regressing.
I am not suggesting that is all we do. I suggest we make their oil unusable for anyone for the next thousand years.
But first, I would love to rub their noses in our ability to have fortitude, to show them they don't run the damned world.
I do believe we would be better off as a country if we had the ability to suck it up, do without if necessary and have some pride in our ability to do what our ascestors who settled this country did.
The truth is, as much as I love luxury and our standard of living, most of us are like pigs at a trough.
How much do we really have to have in the name of treating ourselves well? As much as we can afford? We would be a better people living within our means to provide.
Sorry but I am so sick of these damned Iranians, I would love to see them all gone from the face of the earth.
What I'd like to know is why there was not, oh shall we say a plane flown into the meeting of the mindless (im-a-nutjob/chaves/etc.) when they were all in cuba the other week and take all of them out, then blame it on rough/lost terrorists flying the plane.
The destruction of America
The subjugation of all that remains.
Yep, regression.
Where did I err?
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