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Today's Top News
Strike and We'll Strike You back, Warns Tehran
Iran has handed over its long-awaited response to the West's offer of incentives to halt its suspected nuclear weapons programme, after a warning by one of its top military leaders that any strike against it would trigger war.
Details were not immediately disclosed of what Iran called a "constructive and creative" response to an offer by the US, Britain, Russia, China, Germany and France of a deal under which Iran would halt uranium enrichment in return for an agreement to ease sanctions and allow Tehran to continue developing civil nuclear power.
Before the response, however, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Mohammed Jafari, was quoted by the Iranian state news agency as saying: "Iran's response to any military action will make the invaders regret their decision and action." Mr Jafari had already warned that if attacked, Iran would launch a barrage of missiles at Israel and close the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet for oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf.
That in turn followed a declaration by Admiral James Winnefeld, the commander of the US Sixth Fleet, that the launch of missiles by Iran against Israel was "by far the most likely employment of ballistic missiles in the world today, and it demands our immediate attention in the event of a need for a US or Nato response".
Admiral Winnefeld's remarks also underlined the likelihood that Western powers could well be drawn into what US officials have predicted could be a unilateral strike by Israel against Iran if Tehran fails to bow to international pressure to halt uranium enrichment. Speculation that Israel could be prepared to launch its own strike if Iran did not yield to diplomatic pressure was reinforced this week by US defence officials telling ABC News that it might do so within a year.
Israel has remained largely silent in response to the report.
The unnamed US officials suggested that Israel's two "red lines" would be the enrichment by Iran of enough uranium at its Natanz plant to produce nuclear weapons; and the acquisition of the SA 20 air-defence system which Iran is seeking from Russia and which could make a strike against it even more difficult.
That report in turn followed the disclosure two weeks ago, also by US officials, that Israel had deployed about 100 F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers in a major exercise over Greece and the eastern Mediterranean, which was widely seen as a trial run for a possible military operation against Iran.
The latest stirrings about possible Israeli unilateral action have been tied to a growing perception in Israel that the US is unlikely to launch a military strike on Iran in the closing months of a weakened George Bush presidency. This was underlined when the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mike Mullen, said on Thursday: "This is a very unstable part of the world, and I don't need it to be more unstable."
Shaul Mofaz, a member of the Israeli cabinet and a former military chief of staff and defence minister, created a political stir in Israel last month by declaring the day after the exercise ended in early June that "if Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack".
Israel is thought to be more concerned about the reinforcement that a nuclear Iran would give to its influence in the region and to groups allied with it - such as Hizbollah in Lebanon - than about an actual nuclear strike on Israel. A senior Israeli diplomat briefed journalists in London on Thurrsday on the threat to the broader Middle East region if Iran became a nuclear power and was therefore able to exercise regional hegemony.
Arguing that the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, was strongly against any military strike by the US, the eminent defence analyst of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Amir Oren, said yesterday that the Israeli appraisal that the prospect of such a strike was "non existent" would encourage those who believe the Israeli military "must be dispatched to the east".
This continued a vigorous debate in the Israeli media this week about Israel's readiness for unilateral action against Iran. Major-General Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, a hawkish former head of military intelligence, acknowledged that Iran would probably respond with long-range missiles to any Israeli attack and that Hizbollah could well come to its support "with its 40,000 rockets, and Syria might as well". But, he added: "In my judgement, the price that Israel will pay then will be far less painful than the price that it will be forced to pay if the Iranians obtain a nuclear bomb."
Alex Fishman, a military analyst on Israel's largest newspaper, Yedhiot Arhronot, believes the US is "using Israel for intimidation". But, he wrote this week: "The problem is that threats of this type have a dynamic of their own, and they may yet be self-fulfilling."
Professor Uzi Arad, a former director of intelligence at Mossad, said yesterday that last month's exercise by Israel, at considerable cost, showed it was serious about a military option in the last resort. While an escalation was "not inevitable," Professor Arad said, it was not necessary to attack nuclear targets in order to deter Iran's nuclear weapons programme. Military installations and airfields, for example, could also be attacked, he suggested.
The military operation
Targets
The main focus of any Israeli strike would be Iran's nuclear facilities. US and British defence officials say the attacks would also seek to neutralise other military facilities in an attempt to prevent Tehran from retaliating immediately. In particular, they would concentrate on the sites of Shahab-3B missiles that have a range of up 1,250 miles and the capability to hit Israel. The Americans may also want the Israelis to destroy Shahab-2s, which have a shorter range of about 200 miles but pose a danger to US ships in the Gulf and troops in Iraq. Other targets could include the naval facility at Bandar Abbas and command and control centres in and around Tehran. Many of the Iranian nuclear facilities such as Bushehr and especially Natanz are protected by concrete bunkers. Destroying them would require up to 100 bunker-busting bombs to be used in synchronised and complex operations.
Attack routes
Israel's military exercise in the Mediterranean last month was widely seen as a dress rehearsal for Iran. It involved 100 F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers, refuelling tankers and helicopters flying about 1,450 km, about the same distance as to the Iranian uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. The northern route, overflying Turkey, is the most logical one for for Israel. An alternative route would be via the south, avoiding the Saudi land mass and approaching Iran over the ocean. But that is longer and more hazardous.
Ground operations
The US is reported to be running covert operations in Iran funded by $400m (£200m) siphoned from other programmes, and run by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command. They involve support for the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups as well as other dissident organisations. The Iranians have complained for a long time that bomb attacks in its territory are being organised by US and British forces in Iraq, a charge both countries have denied. An Israeli air operation could be augmented by attacks carried out on the ground.
Risks to the Israelis
The Israelis destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981. That was, however, just one site and the Iraqis were taken by surprise. Destroying Iran's nuclear facilities is a much more complex business. The mission is not only likely to provoke retaliation from President Ahmadinejad (left), with measures such as disruption of oil traffic through the Gulf - but also carries the risk of Israeli pilots being shot down and/or taken prisoner.
© 2008 The Independent

176 Comments so far
Show AllIf ever a country had justification to make preemptive strikes, Iran does.
Iran Air Flight 655 is all the justification any country needs.
I guess we'll be seeing a lot more carpooling when gas hits $12 per gallon. Might even bring back memories to some old timers (with appropriate change of characters, of course).
Israel would be foolish to invade Iran. The nation of Israel would be even more hated and despised than it already is should they invade Iran. Israel would be responsible for a global economic collapse and possibly a nuclear winter - all due to Jewish paranoia. Pathetic!Israel would expect the world to feel sorry for them - but no one will save perhaps the USA.
Perhaps they are not understanding something? Both China and Russia say they would help Iran defend itself should Israel and/or the USA invade Iran. Is this what Israel and the USA truly wants? Or would both of these countries rather take their chances with the POSSIBILITY that Iran will be making nuclear weapons - thereby preventing WW3? We will see what happens.
Iran declared the CIA a terrorist organization as well. So if there are CIA agents in Iran, I hope all of them leave before being captured.
is there anything that Israel produces that we consume here in the U.S.?
How can we boycott Israeli products?
Iran will strike United States interests all over the world IN WAYS THE MSM HAS NOT EVER MENTIONED. The blowback, the counterstrike, will begin in Iraq and spread from there. The MSM, along with their Neoconjob, Democrat and Republican Fellow Travlers will then call for . . . what? . . . an invasion, an all out war against Iran? What are they going to do and what are they going to do it with? I'm sure these drooling idiots think the Iranians will do nothing, just as the military thought the Soviets would do nothing if we invaded Cuba during the Missile Crisis in 1962. But watch out most of all for the Neocon Nerds: the Kristols, Feiths, Roves and every other puffed-up, sniveling little jackass wearing a bow tie and what used to be called back in the 1950's a "regular boy's haircut". Watch out for the drugstore cowboys, the legends in their own minds, the dime novel authors, the punks who've been injecting themselves every day for years with homicidal steroids, with their invisible 50 inch chests and 30 inch biceps. They're the ones who'll get us all killed.
When you try to influence by force, you've lost your ability to truly influence.
I'm against any wars, bombings, no matter what country.
the leaders and the power centers have failed the citizens of the countries involved.
i need to set my expectations much lower with these idiots who have power (yes, you congress)
i've wanted to go skiing in Iran for a while now. I wanted to go meet Iranian people, hear about their rich culture. When I traveled to New Zealand, I met lots of people who settled there, from many different countries, who traveled years ago across the middle east, Iran, Afghanastan, India, etc., with incredibly interesting stories.
That type of option is not available to people anymore, for folks who have more interests in experiencing the world, rather than buying "stuff". Think about the teen agers today, who won't have that opportunity any time soon, from any of these countries. Is it only the far left who is tired of this crap? Is there any way to shame people into changing their life styles to get away from livelihoods that support killing?
Einstein defined war as "killing for profit".
It sounds like the Israeli government leaders and military commanders (not that there's much of a demarcation between the two) are prepared to sacrifice the Israeli populace in an impending dick-waving contest of stupidity. The entire world has been wondering for the past seven years when Americans are going to stand up to the asinine jerks in Washington: it's time to expand that focus to Israel's eligible voters. Pissing people off seems to be the hobby of both country's governments, and aside from being childish, it's inherently dangerous.
Would you hang out with peers who shout inflamatory statements to gangs? Would you support a government that tempts potential enemies (who, by the way, are also potential friends) to come and kill you while you sleep? Are we all as stupid as our governments wish us to be?
A minor warning from Iran, with lots of speculation of what other countries could do to Iran. Not one mention of the fact that any strike might not accomplish what the planners of the crime hope for.
Not much discussion of what Iran and other countries could do in response to such a strike. Oil is already headed above 150/barrel, and some fools are still talking about launching another war that would see that price skyrocket.
Insanity is too light a term to describe the blood lust that is flowing from Washington and Isreal. Madness doesn't cover it either. Delusional comes close, wishfull delusions of grandeur perhaps. Maybe bush and the leaders of Isreal think the Messiah is about to return and think launching a war will help, I think they're going to have an unpleasant surprise.
The ammo stocks of the western powers are not as full as they need to be if their governments want to kill everyone in the middle east without using Nukes. Should any fool use a nuke their countrymen will be forever damned for the acts of their leaders.
US recognition of Israel in 1948 may have been the biggest mistake the US ever made. To compound our error, we gave nuclear technology to these irrational fanatics who think God chose them to rule over all the goyim.
All we have to do put an end to the lunacy is stop financing Israeli land-grabs with US tax dollars. Either that, or let them drag us into WWIII.
Considering that Zionists already rule over the US Congress, WWIII probably isn't far off.
The Strait of Hormuz is the most telling sign of what will destroy our and Israel's nations. Closing that will cause our gasoline, overnight, to be $10 - $12 a gallon, if not more. All Iran has to do is make an attempt of an attack and no insurance company will insure the tankers through there: done. It would be the biggest blow to the US and Israel economies ever, and be a major salvo in bringing down these criminal governments.
Strait of Hormuz : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormuz%2C_Strait_of#2008_Iranian_Threats
The Strait controls around 20-25% of the world's oil flow. The U.S. would never allow that kind of disruption and would do what it feels it needs to do to correct the situation ( massive bombings / take control of the Strait ). China and Russia will never allow the U.S. to go uncontended on this strategically important oil situation. At least, they will arm Iran to the teeth with what it needs to slow down the American/Israeli aggressions. At worst, they enter more directly into World War III.
All in all, if this attack happens, life as we know it will forever be changed.
( Strait from the devil's mouth:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,374905,00.html )
andrews said at 12:56pm:
"When you try to influence by force, you've lost your ability to truly influence."
You're a sage. I've always thought that as well. Thank you for stating it here.
Are you ready for $20/gal gas? Because that's what you will be paying soon after the war starts.
THE END OF IMAGINATION
By Arundhati Roy
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/nukes/endOfImagine.html
In 1953 the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular Prime Minister, Mohammed Massadegh. The Eisenhower Administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons; but the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs.
http://www.truthout.org/article/bush-setting-attack-iran
Excerpt: 5/8/06 "Once again, a "preventive" war initiated by Bush would violate the United Nations Charter, which forbids the use of armed force against another country unless it poses an imminent threat, or when the Security Council authorizes an attack.
Bush is following the same route he took on the way to regime change in Iraq. He pressured members of the Security Council for a resolution threatening Iraq. The Council passed Resolution 1441. France, Russia and China issued a joint statement specifying, "Resolution 1441 (2002) adopted today by the Security Council excludes any automaticity in the use of force." In other words, the US would have to return to the Council to secure authorization to invade Iraq.
Bush was unable to secure a second resolution from the Council that would authorize an attack on Iraq. So Bush rationalized his invasion by cobbling together Resolution 1441 and two prior Council resolutions from the Gulf War. None of these, separately or collectively, provided a legal basis for Bush's war on Iraq."
The U.S. just loves to change regimes in Iran (and elsewhere). Why don't the imperialist leaders just leave other people alone?
Just think, we may escape the consequences of global warming yet: Nuclear winter.
thewonderingyou July 5th, 2008 1:12 pm
Americans did stand up to the idiots in charge in Washington. Several times. The idiots in charge refuse to listen. But I wonder who are the bigger idiots: those we put in charge or us for doing so time after time after time.
"support for the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups as well as other dissident organisations"
Oh look, the US found new rascals to fund. New Baath parties, Al Qaedas and Talibans in the making. Can't wait to see the burden the poor will bear from that. God Bless the United States of America!
Someone, actually a few went to Iran either last year or the beginning of this year from CodePink, they sent us pix of Iran. Breathtakingly sumptuous. It reminded me when we were driving from Istanbul to Pamukale in Turkey and we were in nowhere land, fields of opium poppies my husband insisted were dry poppies. I don't know the villagers were pretty damned happy.
andrews, was that a quote from someone, it sounds familiar. I don't usually link to anything, every now and then I will I am never sure where I'll be late and some never have the html blank to bring me back, pain in the ass. WWIII, cannot even tell my 31 year old. Incessant fear of nuclear demise. There was a movie when she was young and it was about that, TV movie. She clearly remembers the name to this day. She was my first and I'm an ass, I wanted her to realize the inherent destruction men, no offense, held in their hands and should at all costs be prevented from such shit. Reversed the reverse Psychology.
Congress is *owned* by AIPAC. They can no more stand up to them, than vote to say the Pentagon's budget is a huge opportunity cost.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/20/politics/main1820193.shtml
------------------------------
Yet as Republican and Democratic leaders rally behind the measure in rare bipartisan fashion, a handful of lawmakers have quietly expressed reservations that the resolution was too much the result of a powerful lobbying force and attempts to court Jewish voters.
"I'm just sick in the stomach, to put it mildly," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, D-W.Va., who is of Lebanese descent.
"This is the usual problem with any resolution that talks about Israel — there are a lot of closet naysayers up there (in Congress), but they don't want to be a target of the lobby" of Israel, said Eugene H. Bird, president of the Council for the National Interest, a group that harshly condemns Israel's military campaign.
------------------------------
Once the attack on Iran occurs, all options are on the table...
I would like to say something, to any Iranian people who may read this; I am a citizen of the United States. I am ashamed of what my government has done in Iraq, and I would not condone any U.S. involvement in any kind of an attack on Iran, even if it would be to assist Israel. I know, I am only one person, but if you read the many comments posted on this Website, you must realize that there are many more Americans who do not support the Bush Administration either. But there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it. I hope that there is not another war, but if Israel does start one, I believe you would be justified in doing anything you have to do to defend your country. Before that starts, though, I wanted you to know how I feel. We are not all bad.
That was the name the US has been backing Jundallah in running covert ops through Iran, PRMI.
I used to have links to student websites in Iran I've scoured my computer, can't find them.
No Mahmoud President Ahmadinejad, we are alright. I promise not to mispronounce your name like the morons you've been speaking of, I wouldn't say, Ach-man-inejad, I know its Ahmad-inejad, no prob. Leave Turkey alone my 19 year old will be there, hear me Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? She could coach a new sport in Iran, make the Winter Olympics, the Republic of Irans Womens Ice Hockey Team. just give her the puck, okay. You can close Incirlik, Turkey will do it, they don't want the US there anymore anyway, screwing up their EU chances.
"Israel is thought to be more concerned about the reinforcement that a nuclear Iran would give to its influence in the region and to groups allied with it - such as Hizbollah in Lebanon - than about an actual nuclear strike on Israel." This is the key: Israel's fear of loosing its nuclear weapon hegemony in the region, and the potential to use it on any other country or group that can be perceived as a threat. It is Isreal's potential for preemptive atomic war that is seen to be at stake here.
A N D R E W S _____ asks July 5th, 2008 12:51 pm"is there anything that Israel produces that we consume here in the U.S.?
How can we boycott Israeli products?"
Why sure, just look at this:
Namaste « Presence »
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world » — Gandhi
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed » — Gandhi
« We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself » — ML King
The corporate media who hypocritically pretend to support our troops have completely failed to report, as far as I have seen, on the threat to our navy and sailors a war with Iran would represent.
The Iranians have purchased hundreds of the best anti ship cruise missiles in the world, the Russian made Exocet, Sunburn and the even more-advanced SS-NX-26 Yakhonts missile. The Yakhonts has a range of over 150 miles, and flies at Mach 2.9 at a cruising altitude over water of 4 meters (22 feet). This means that the Yakhonts, flying so low, is invisible to radar or other technological detection methods. At Mach 2.9, the crew of an American naval ship, if absolutely vigilant, in daylight, would be able to see the missile three seconds before impact.
And the Yakhonts has a feature known as "violent end maneuvers" which means that it suddenly rockets upwards and then dives into the deck of the targeted vessel.
Three seconds is not long enough to react to just one missile, and the Iranians have hundreds of them. Many are mounted on mobile launchers and stationed in a series of reinforced concrete bunkers in the coastal mountains on the Iranian shore of the Persian Gulf. The Iranians could fire several missiles at each ship, with arrival times only seconds apart and fired from different approach angles, assuring that our naval defenses would be overwhelmed.
Our naval ships in the gulf are sitting ducks, with 20-30 thousand sailors who could be lost in a few hours and the Iranians have enough of these missiles to prevent U.S. navy ships from outside the Gulf from coming to the rescue of sailors who could be adrift at sea after their ships were sunk in the Gulf.
The Iranians have enough of these cruise missiles to hold enough in reserve to close shipping through the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf. Shipping companies would not send their tankers to an uncertain fate if Iran announced that shipping through the Strait was not going to be permitted, and the combination of mobile launchers and reinforced concrete "caves" to hide them in means that it would not be easy for the U.S. Navy or Air Force to take them out.
Our media is seriously derelict in their obligations to inform the American public as per their airwave license responsibilities when the U.S. public is not made aware of the dangers our sailors are facing.
Israel must not be allowed to trigger such a catastrophe by launching an ill advised attack against Iran.
Mullen is on Cspan talking about Iran now..
We need an amendment to the constitution, that would prohibit Congress from passing to the President its sole responsibility for declaring war. The consequences of this situation are so grave that to have the President the sole person is suicidal, especially since he has shown clearly that he and his administration are incapable of making sane decisions.
The Democrats have made a clear and compelling case for impeachment, but Congress is too cowardly to act on it. The blame will be on their shoulders.
Israel has been clever in manufacturing products that cater to specific lefties groups as a way to mellow them..including vegan marshmellows if I recall correctly.
They also produce chocolate bars under the Tropical Source brand. They may even be manufactured in the West Bank.
Israel really should smarten up before its too late.
The US doesnt have as much to lose as Israel does.
They have a Masada complex.
...was, then evaded and talking shit, uh oh.
This is for Andrew and all the rest who wish to punish Israel where it hurts the most: Money and investment. Here's a link to the global Boycott Israel website:
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.php.
And please check all canned products when shopping, particularly olives, olive oil, and Middle Eastern process food with the bar code beginning with "729"; it's from Israel. Starbucks has been on the Boycott Israel hit list for years and recently Starbucks may have paid the price for supporting illegal settlements.
And contact your state congress critters and the Israeli Embassy and raise hell (nicely please).
How can we not conclude that our conservative side is our greedy, deceitful, destructive, reactionary, superstitious, fearful, ignorant, false, cruel, cowardly and murderous bestial side?
That fanatical religious and jingoistic war profiteering conservatives of all countries would destroy the one and only habitable paradise for life in the known universe and in the process kill us and themselves over some ancient fairy tales and for having more toys?
Though I abhor religion, conservatives make me believe Mammon exists. If so, God may also and must be letting us fail so we can learn from our mistakes.
sung425 I shop in Halall markets, my olives, olive oil, rechel, chai all Turkish. I do think they have pickles from Israel, they're small they'll remove them.
Turce. Thank you my friend. And to veracity above, excellent post on the Israeli bar code. How did you do that???
sung425, aka veracity is great at allof that stuff I have no patience to learn Give me a screwdriver.
Re: andrews "is there anything that Israel produces that we consume here in the U.S.?"
Israel is the world's fourth largest exporter of arms. (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988489.html) In fact Israel's MIC is larger than the US proportionally which makes a general boycott of their goods next to impossible. The problem is that our MIC is the biggest purchaser of Israeli products, which amounted to over 10 billion dollars just over the last two years.
ThomasMc writes... "Are you ready for $20/gal gas? Because that's what you will be paying soon after the war starts."
Possibly, but not necessarily. The largest exporter of oil to the US is Canada, which has three times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia in its tar sands. While the extraction process is more expensive, at the current price of oil it has been quite profitable. I think the oil prices would soar to $20 a gallon, but eventually come down as Canada picked up the slack. Keep in mind that Big Oil is concerned that alternative (non-fossil) fuels would become a cheaper alternative at $300 a barrel.
lillulu writes..."The U.S. just loves to change regimes in Iran (and elsewhere). Why don't the imperialist leaders just leave other people alone?"
I think you know the answer... because corporate America has much more influence over our government than the general public does. It is ONLY corporate America that profits from all of these foreign interventions with the Middle Class taxpayer footing the bill in the name of 'security'.
ChangeB42late writes..."It (an attack on the Straits of Hormuz) would be the biggest blow to the US and Israeli economies ever, and be a major salvo in bringing down these criminal governments."
Which economies are you talking about? The economies of Haliburton, Big Oil, defence contractors, etc. would be salivating like dogs in heat. Besides the obvious windfalls of the Merchants of Death, other aspects of corporate America from pharmaceutical companies to Coca Cola would also profit enormously from the crisis that would ensue. Insurance companies would indeed refuse to insure ships in the straits, so we would simply adjust by paying more, doing with less and by grabbing a bigger portion of the oil reserves in other countries. The average American would suffer and weather through the storm, but the MSM would rally around the government and multi-nationals talking about the 'need to make sacrifices in the time or war' and all of that BS.
Iran unfortunately would be limited in their response. They have no nukes, their military is dilapidated and puny compared to Israel OR the US and the general populace does not possess hundreds of millions of small arms (unlike the US) to take the revolution to the streets. Many Iranians actually buy into the American MSM propaganda and will point their finger at their own government for bringing on the destruction of their own country at the hands of Israel and the US. Things won't be rosy here or there for most people, but the big players will have a field day over the crisis that ensues.
Thanks, Veracity. I'll look at the barcodes on my purchases and avoid any 729's.
Iran has launched no wars for several centuries.
The NIE says there is no evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapon program.
Other intelligence agencies can find no evidence.
The UN Inspectors can find no evidence of a nuclear weapons program.
Iran is a signator to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The best estimate for Iran producing a nuclear weapon, IF there is some sort of a covert program which no one in the world can find, is about TEN YEARS.
Then we have the US, which has the largest stockpile of WMD's on the planet and has demonstrated a willingness to use them, and Israel which has several hundred nuclear armed missiles, has signed no treaties and allows no inspections by any agency, nor will it discuss its weaponry other than to discuss the Sampson Alternative.
So, it seems urgent and necessary that we destroy yet another ancient culture, lay waste to its cities, possibly irradiate millions of people before the next US election?
This is, by any definition, insanity. If we cannot remove these alleged leaders and lock them away where they can do no harm, then we, too, should be put into an asylum.
The UN was formed to end war. To provide a forum for solving disputes. It had an "army" of peacekeepers, who got between disputants with their white jeeps and their blue and white helmets, to keep the peace while the problems were solved at the conference table. For a while, it worked, but the "Great Powers," who formed the Security Council wanted veto power over the smaller nations of the world so no one could tell THEM what to do. They got it and the UN began to fail from within.
We need a UN, not as a great controlling power, but as a place where people can go to iron out their differences through negotiation and compromise. Diplomacy used to be a respected profession, learned and practiced by statesmen. The current idea of diplomacy seems to be if we can't intimidate them or kill them all off, we'll talk to them. Diplomacy seems to be the last refuge of the scoundrels that are bullying their way across the globe.
The world needs a great infusion of friendship, charity and brotherly love. If it would grow, perhaps it could overbalance hatred, bigotry and greed and we could once more live in peace and amity with our neighbors, working together to end poverty, ignorance, hunger and disease.
Sorry to get so preachy, but I am a nuclear veteran. I have seen first hand the horror of nuclear weaponry. I rejoiced when the non-proliferation treaty, the peaceful uses of space treaty and the ABM treaty were signed. I thought we would finally have a chance to work out our problems, but now in seven years, Bush and the military-industrial-congressional-oil-pharma-agribusiness complex have brought the cold war back, have unilaterally started illegal wars and slaughtered a million or more people, mostly civilians, and made billions in profits.
Apparently We the People of the World have nothing to say about it anymore. I find that sad.
Government leaders like prepubescent kids playing with toys that could obliterate the planet. Any person in charge of a country who decides to go to war should be placed naked in a cage on public display and left there to rot.
If Israel strikes Iran and America joins the fight, it is Jewish boys and girls from America that should be sent first.
Q: is there anything that Israel produces that we consume here in the U.S.?
A: Congress.
Its $6/liter so its already over $12 in Europe
The religious right used to look for "666" as the "mark of the beast." Perhaps they should now look for "729" on the members of the US Government, from the alleged president on down. ;-)
War in Iraq and Afghanistan: 3 Trillion Dollars
Cost of Doing Business: 100,000+ lives lost
Starting World War Three: Priceless
There are some things money can't buy...for everything else, theres Fascism.
to quote from ANDREWS' link 'the end of imagination' - 'this world of ours is four thousand six hundred million years old. it could end in an afternoon'................sobering statement.
Boycott of olive oil might have had some impact on the economy of, say, early 20'th century Sicily (as shown in Godfather II), but won't amount to much when it comes to the economy of a country that can arrange military exercises that involve "100 F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers, refuelling tankers and helicopters". At any rate, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen (quoted in above article) has already set the course of this country for the foreseeable future with the following pronouncement:
[The United States] has been at Israel's side for all of 60 years, it will be for the next 60 years, 100 years and 1,000 years.
I wonder what George Washington would have had to say about a uniformed officer under his command who publicly expressed such views about a foreign power.
S U N G 425,
The magic is through the us of embedded HTML tags, which is a simple text only programing technique, and it's fundamental to the creation and maintenance of all web sites.
CD's use of wordpress web server software allows many embedded HTML constructs, formating bold, text color -- but the
__ SEVERE problem is that it'll
__ likely end up getting you
__ permanently ban☠ned and/or postings deleted
( like happened to NAHIDA's use of posting many pictures, and too many to count previous postings of my own ).
Use CD's google search engine for my earlier postings, using text strings:
"HTML", "picture", "(center)", "img src=", "/a", "format", "edit", "font color='"
I now severely restrict HTML tags to what I believe is "OK", compared to the days when every posting used some new font color or face, or use of another's site's artwork ( real ©_copywrong©_right )
Namaste « Presence »
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world » — Gandhi
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed » — Gandhi
« We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself » — ML King
When the U.S. invaded Iraq, they thought they were going to waltz in and take the oil. The insurgency prevented that from happening immediately, but the oil companies got an even bigger windfall when the price of oil from everywhere else in the world skyrocketed. Even these dumbass neocons can learn the lesson here. By triggering war with Iran and getting Iran to close off the Strait where 25% of the world's oil comes from, the OTHER 75% of the oil reserves in the world can quadruple in value overnight. Not only can they reduce costs by probably 1/3 or more by not having to mess with the Strait any more, they're also going to see an increase in profits without it.
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If Israel in insane enought to attack Iran. It will be the total destruction of the State of Israel !!!!!!!!!
If the United States military is caught being involved in any attack on Iran; the U.S. will loose half of the Oil it purchases globally. The rest of the sane world will be scrambling buy up all of the Oil at any price. And the world's producing countries will be unwilling to sell any Oil to Israel, the United States, or Britain.......
A quarter of a million U.S. Troops "trapped" in the Middle East will be slaughtered...."24--7" until the last one is killed........
Attacking Iran is the most stupid and insane military option ever considered.......DOOMSDAY
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It seems in reading the comments that "We the People" have many ideas and answers. Ask a question and your fellow blogger whom has the answer you seek offers it freely. It even seems we see the insanity going on right before our eyes. We as individuals know that this world can be a better place than it seems at present. And the common thread I find in all of this, which we don't seem to grasp is how do "We the People" stop such assininity, insanity, greed, lawlessness?
Since we don't seem to be operating under the US Constitution any longer are we really even still the United States of America? May it not be time to call for and set about convening a New Constitutional Convention........the original Constitution allows for this, and the founding Fathers even thought it was not only our right but our duty to do so. Would this make us Home grown Terroists, or rational thinking Human Beings pursueing our God given rights as Sovereign Individuals?
Would taking the country back to what we were taught it was as children, what we believed it to be as youths and young adults and even bettering it be so wrong? Impossible, Idealised Dreaming,
Why?
This country and the world has what is needed to function as a planet of unlimited opportunity, what I see lacking is only intent, mind set. All that you can be doesn't only fall under the domain of the US Army......or does it people?
Peterntomsbro @aol.com if you care to comment and share your feelings and ideas