Read the UN Charter.
Read the Nuremberg Principles.
Read the Geneva Conventions.
Read some history.

The UN was set up to avoid what happened in WW-I and II. It was given power to act so it would not turn into a powerless debating society as the League of Nations did.

The UN was to be a forum of most of the nations of the world, subscribing to a code of humane actions, eschewing violence for negotiations. The various agencies of the UN were to help the world work itself up out of poverty, ignorance and want. After WW-II we were to have a world of empathy, caring, sharing. For a few years it did work.

If the "Big Five" hadn't decided that they were so important and powerful that no one on the planet was going to tell them what to do, so they gave themselves veto power over the opinions of the rest of the world, it might have worked.

As it turned out, though for a few years UN Peace keepers in their blue and white uniforms and equipment were able to accomplish the task of providing a buffer zone between disputants while the solutions were sought at the bargaining table, on the big issues it boiled down to the simple fact that, whatever was approved by the United States was vetoed by the CCCP and vice versa. As a result, little of major impact was accomplished in the long run and the organization fell into disrepute.

There is a faint possibility that, if it were reconstituted as it was meant to be, it could work. People like the Cheney/Bush gang would be quickly arrested and tried for war crimes long before it got to this point. In an ideal world, they would have been picked up when they issued the marching orders.

Instead, We the People of the United States and the World will probably be frog marched to the camps and the ovens and it will take yet another generation to turn it around. But will they learn from the experience?

Apparently we haven't.

Does everyone agree that if the US had invaded Saudi Arabia instead of Iraq that
1. Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, UAE, Jordan, Eqypt, Syria, Pakistan, Dubai and Israel would have made peace?
2. The sole nation responsible for Afghanistan and Radical muslim terrorists would have been severely curtailed in its support of radical islam.
3. Women's rights in Saudi Arabia would have been vindicated.
4. There would be no more Al Queada, no attacks on Spain or England, no continuing annihilation of christians, hindus, buddhists, or stoning of raped women.
5. Everyone's main enemy to middle east and world peace- Saudi Arabia- would have been put out of the business of terrorism.

Yes US. As a bully, go right ahead and drop your bombs on Iran. It would not surprise anyone as you are reputed to be not only a warhorse but also a purveyor of global conflict and a destabilizer of democratically elected governments that share differing viewpoints from yours.

Just like the Iraqi quagmire you caused, the hundreds of thousand of lives you have ruined that has resulted in your indelibly blood-stained hands: it would be interesting to see which country - America or Iran - suffers more; especially in view of the fact that America not only has an addiction to oil but worse yet a voracious and insatiable appetite for it.

It would be nice to see Americans having to tighten their belts for a change and learn to live less wasteful and extravagant lives.

damien: exactly. And if they stand up for themselves it may embolden other frightened nations and leaders to join together and say "No, not this time."

So now GWB is pushing Afghanistan to aerial spray the bumpercrop of poppies with herbicide! We haven't poisoned that area of the world enough with depleted uranium. Too bad the people grow their food crops beside the poppies. Oh well.

Karzai says he is dead set against the spraying, but the Bush Administration is "pushing" it (along, no doubt, with the Democrat led Congress).

Is anyone else out there having nightmares besides me? The Ambien's just not working anymore. Between a potential war with Iran, the occupation of Iraq, Blackwatergate, Torturegate, and hundreds of women and little girls being raped and mutilated by gangs in Congo wearing Los Angeles gang attire....I'm having a problem relaxing.

But wait!! I can watch Monday night football and the baseball playoffs! Thank God for sports!!

Dubai, Dubai. Isn't that where Halliburton lives now?

There is a Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times". So who put the moxy on the planet?

THE WAR IS OVER!

Mission Accomplished President Bush!
Mission Accomplished GOP Led Congress!
Mission Accomplished General Petraeus!

The Insurgency Is Put Down. The Genocide Is Stopped. Subdividing Iraq Would Only Be A Further Act Of War.

The duly elected government of Iraq (and its Iranian allies) have won.
Saddam Hussein (and the Baath Party) have lost. The United States (and its allies) have lost.

Bring The Troops Home, General Petraeus!
Bring The Troops Home, Congress!
Bring The Troops Home, President Bush!

ahro, I'm not sure if ANYTHING will wake up the mass of US citizens on a scale that would stop this current regime. Unless there is a drastic change now, it will indeed be close to Judgement Day - only it won't be any God's Judgement Day.

I was thinking about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The major oil companies are not stupid-they may do stupid things in our opinion, but I'm sure they know full well what would happen should one fourth of the World's oil were prevented from reaching the rest of the World.

In my opinion, they don't give a damn about the ordinary people. The armed forces would still have enough of it's own reserves to continue to fight. The rest of the World would be forced to pay even more for gasoline and all the other products produced from petroleum. It would be great for their bottom line and stockholders. And which countries possess the majority of the gold? It would be great for them as well if it continued to increase in value.

Perhaps, although it would be after the war had already begun, the insane price oil would cost may be the one thing that finally snaps those sleepwalking through life awake. But it would be too late. Martial law would have been declared by then, and a huge army of mercenaries from around the world would be hired to maintain order in the States.

And half the way around the World, you may as well say that World War Three had begun because we all know that the conflict will spread across borders and soon Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and all the other Gulf States would be pulled into the fighting. India, Turkey, Pakistan, Russia, China and who knows how many more countries would become involved.

Those who truly run this World would wait until all the DU dust had settled to then put the final touches of their plan into place. That is of course, if there still is a "place" to put any final touches on.

Since the USA is subservient to the nation of Israel, it's nice to know where Hillary Clinton stands on all this. Here is her quote: "We (USA) Stand With Israel... That is A Policy That Will Never Change."
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6...ew? i=6f638b095e

She agrees with Israel that Iran should be bombed.

Ahro: The sheeple will wake up... just in time to realise here is no gas for the SUV, the crops are failing because the petroleum derived fertilisers and pesticides have run out, and the economy is worse off than the fall of the Wiemar republic...

What no-one is willing to talk about is IF the US uses nukes, against nuclear reactors sites, where does the fallout blow? Oh wait... eventually CALIFORNIA!

Time to wake up... Bushco is riking the lives and health not only of millions of innocent Iranians, but of millions of Americans.

Jack 37 took the words right out of my mouth.

But I didn't see "Little George the Third" with no clothes on trying to ape the human language on T.V.

I couldn't bear to watch.

I now have MSM permenantly turned off. I just can't watch this freak circus show anymore....

I'll just get my news from sites like commondreams.

I think Salila is wrong. This nut sends troops into battle without body armor, and then won't fix
their hospital for them when they retun minus legs and arms..... He has no shame, the banks and wall street are petrified the dollar will tank.... Gold is soaring..... Defense contractors are pushing for perpetual war....

This looks to me to be a perfect storm. I hope I'm wrong.

This is, as all my posts are, just my opinions only.

pac

Not even the massive carpet bombings and firebombings of WWII changed anything about "enemy morale" and in fact hardened it against the Allies right to the end in Europe and Japan alike. Any general worth a damn knows that---so bombing Iran would do nothing but create the larger war that President Numbskull our messiah wants....Did you see his dopey deer-in-the-headlights grin last week while the interviewer from El Arabia TV asked him if he was going to attack Iran and got the "idle gossip" answer? Bush looked as if he were being asked about his golf game---utterly vacant, a complete tragicomic fraud, an imbecile whom we allow do decide things of world-wide life and death import....

All the talks about attacking Iran is just posturing and psychological war. There are several factors prohibiting such an attack. For one, there are about 200 thousand war weary American soldiers as captive sitting ducks in Iraq, and Iran knows where they are camped and where the bases are. The Persian Gulf Arab states are much more concerned about their own fate than that of Iran. In the event of a war some pro-US dictators may face popular uprising or revolt by the Shia and go the way of Iran's Shah.

Israel is militarily incapable of attacking Iran, and much too smarter than to do so, even though they pray and spur the US to do it for them. Israel's nukes would also be useless when paramilitary guerrillas start marching inside Israel proper from different locations, unless it wants to nuke itself.

The alternative is to engage talking with Iran, which can help the US both in Afghanistan and manage a face saving withdrawal from Iraq.

When Dubai, UAE starts talking, the Bush administration will probably listen, because of the immense amount of money and oil influence concentrated there. Same with Saudi Arabia. The only real question is whether the richer "gulf states" are quietly afraid of Iran and whether they are quietly asking America to strike Iran while publicly denouncing the same.

The notion that the Bush administration is going to actually do anything against the real wishes of the main oil suppliers is highly unlikely. It's just that those oil producers can easily be telling us one thing and speaking solidarity with their so-called Muslim brothers (for public consumption) at the same time. It will be very hard for American citizens to know the truth about that, except to conclude that if we strike Iran, it will probably be with secret Arab approval.

kalia

Take your filthy racism and shove it where the sun don't shine. Remember, the Arabs are Semites too. What would you say if I said, "That's an old Jewish trick"?

I suppose the bribe was not enough for him, so he is complaining publicly. That is an old Arab trick.

It is Madness, but you know, due to our complacency (the American people) I almost feel like we deserve it.

I fully subscribe to the notion that in order for any major change, like the American people actually reasserting their own power here at home, to take place - something very bad has to occur.

I am talking about bringing the bottom up. NOW

I know it sounds radical and just plain ignorant and foolish to say this, but us (US)

mixing it up with Iran would certainly make for some MAJOR change around here...!

(it might even slap us out of our collective daze).

General Petraeus strongly implied that it would soon be necessary to obtain authorization to take action against Iran within its own borders, rather than just inside Iraq. "

What's the guy smking ? The combined effort of CIA , State Dept , White House and Pentagon have been talking and acting like this concerning Cuba for over fifty years with no results except to make Cubans more patriotic, more resigned to resistance , literately speaking-more intelligent , just plain tougher and Cuba is only 90 miles away not half-way around the world.

Iran has roughly ten times the population and land mass with a topography more like Afghanistan than Cuba .

The gritty Iranians must be laughing themselves silly over such poker-player bravado but also preparing themselves for an American , air-borne nuclear assault.

There is a very large Iranian population in Dubai, UAE mostly located in Diera--- almost the entire Diera spice souk is run by Iranians as I was just there this summer. I'm sure the UAE is worried of the instability of its own Iranian population should Iran be attacked. This talk of war with Iran is madness and the administration and AIPAC must finally be stopped or we all are screwed.

In an interview after his appearance before a congressional panel on Monday, General Petraeus strongly implied that it would soon be necessary to obtain authorization to take action against Iran within its own borders, rather than just inside Iraq. "There is a pretty hard look ongoing at that particular situation" he said.

The U.S. could start digging its way out in the Middle East by ceasing the demonization of Iran and withdrawing its special protection from Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The theocracy that Khomeini created in Iran is against Shia tradition and has been inimical to Iran's best interests. It's up to the Iranian people to change it, and I believe they will, but not as long as we interfere.
Saudi Arabia is a family-run mafia that would be gone to inside of six months if we withdrew our protection.
Israel can best be described as a thugocracy, a crusader kingdom imposed on the Arab world by the West. If we didn't support it, it would have to come to terms with and live in peace with its neighbors.

As soon as the US wakes up to the fact that it's finished in the Middle East and evacuates its occupation of Iraq, this will initiate a domino effect. Iran will assume its role as the dominant Middle East power; the Gulf states will insist upon the closing of US bases on their territory; and Israel will FINALLY be forced to negotiate a settlement with whomever the Palestinians choose to vote for. Personally, I look forward to all of this.

The Gulf Arab states have got to show a united front to the US. The US only respects and is afraid of power, nothing else will hold them at bay.