[Scrubbin_Bubbles]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12512391/

Iran has received its first batch of North Korean-made surface-to-surface missiles that put European countries within firing range, Israel’s military intelligence chief said in an interview published Thursday.

[Lord Kain]

damn warmongers... the world would be a better place with less greed, more ressource sharing etc

We wouldnt need to police the towelies for their nukes, missiles and whatnot

[Mr. Ali]

sweet

[Lord Kain]

sweet??

better return to your regular fapping exercises man

[MSP]

I'm a realist. This shit is going to continue, and eventually we'll all be at war again. Part of what sparked WWI was an arms buildup with the battleships, etc. And the beat goes on...

I just think we need to invest in technology that mitigates the radiation and fallout from our bombs and just lay waste to a few places. We wouldn't have to worry about Irans' nukes if we droped a few of our own and turned their sand into glass. And other folks working on the bomb might have seconds thoughts.

[ivwshane]

Don't worry guys our government went after the real terrorists. Now that we liberated iraq, terrorism is a thing of the past. Sure iran has weapons but they are not a threat, if they were we would have gone after them instead, right?

[bbsmitz]

Originally Posted by MSP

I'm a realist. This shit is going to continue, and eventually we'll all be at war again. Part of what sparked WWI was an arms buildup with the battleships, etc. And the beat goes on...

I just think we need to invest in technology that mitigates the radiation and fallout from our bombs and just lay waste to a few places. We wouldn't have to worry about Irans' nukes if we droped a few of our own and turned their sand into glass. And other folks working on the bomb might have seconds thoughts.

Are you fucking retarded? Do you realize what the backlash from that would be? Open season on the United States and all of its citizens. Muslims would go apeshit and you'd be facing a full jihad against the US. And before you give me some idiotic argument about naitonal security, think globally. All of our investments overseas would become targets; banks, businesses, and US corporations abroad. Nations would spurn US services fearing both attacks and disruption of service. The dollar's position as a reserve currency, already under pressure, would probably collapse, completely fucking our economy, and given that we have no more manufacturing to speak of, and the global service economy in tatters, the American lifestyle would follow.

Seriously, you think launching a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran would solve anything? You are completely missing the point of this whole debate. Iran is symbolic of a good chunk of the planet which feels marginalized and unfairly threatened by the US and its policies. This would spur them into more overt anti-american action (doesn't even need to be military; they could just stop sending us oil), while simultaneously forcing our last allies away from us.

The Nuclear option can be applied effectively in limited situations. This is not one of them.

[Tacdriver]

What do you suggest we do? Diplomacy, invade with with or without cooperation from NATO, carpet bomb with or without cooperation from NATO or, nothing? I'm just curious if you bbsmitz or, anyone else has any suggestions.

[MSP]

My reply was tongue in cheek, I forgot to add the

[Scooby]

Originally Posted by Tacdriver

What do you suggest we do? Diplomacy, invade with with or without cooperation from NATO, carpet bomb with or without cooperation from NATO or, nothing? I'm just curious if you bbsmitz or, anyone else has any suggestions.

I dont see there being a proper way to handle this yet. Nuke them now and thats ridiculous. The whole muslim world will backlash as stated before.


If we wait for them to show any hostile intent towards any allies, it could be too late.

I think some heavy diplomacy would be the best thing to do right now.

[ninefivezero]

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=627482006

"The Americans should know that if they assault Iran their interests will be harmed anywhere in the world that is possible," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.

"The Iranian nation will respond to any blow with double the intensity," he said.

[ivwshane]

If I was in charge I would keep any action completely covert.


On the outside and to the rest of the world I would be offering diplomacy and play the good guy, overly optimistic role but behind the scenes I would have highly trained operatives keeping a close eye on top officials who can be taken out in a moments notice and make it look like an accident.

I would set an ultimatum with the iraqi people (not the newly formed governement) and tell them that if they want democracy they had better start fighting for it because in two months time US troops will pull out and they will be on their own. I would then also have covert operatives keeping an eye on things and people of influence, taking out threats when needed. This would allow our military to rebuild itself just incase iran wants to play hardball and formally declares war on us (otherwise with our troops stuck in iraq our resources would be spread thin).

On the home front I would start setting up infrustructure for alternative fuel options and it would be done on a massive scale (thereby creating a lot of jobs and giving a boost to the alternative fuel industry). The affects would not be immediate but they would have an impact in the future and would reduce our dependancy on foreign oil and would put the US in control of it's fuel dependancies.

That's just my foreign policy, I've got a domestic policy as well. The way I see it is, we can either spend a ton of money on the military or cut back on military spending and put it towards energizing the US economy through innovation and infrastructure changes.




Am I an expert? Hell no! But spreading our forces even thinner and causing even more instability in the middle east when we are heavily dependant on foreign oil doesn't make sense either.

[MSP]

Good point on the alternative fuels. If we had stayed the course of energy reform from Jimmy Carter, Iran would have never had the money with which to build a nuclear program.

[Eavanr]

I just wrote my IR exam. No more no more no more IR.

[ivwshane]

Originally Posted by MSP

Good point on the alternative fuels. If we had stayed the course of energy reform from Jimmy Carter, Iran would have never had the money with which to build a nuclear program.

Exactly.

Like schools today, if you make the goals too easy they wont be achieved, you have to make things tough and you cannot waiver. That's what's happened since Carter, the goals just keep getting pushed back.

[bbsmitz]

Originally Posted by Tacdriver

What do you suggest we do? Diplomacy, invade with with or without cooperation from NATO, carpet bomb with or without cooperation from NATO or, nothing? I'm just curious if you bbsmitz or, anyone else has any suggestions.

At this point, the only thing I can see right now is Diplomacy. We are in no position to invade Iran, financially, or politically. We have pissed away both our goodwill with Europe and our financial resources on Iraq, and as a result, we have take a diplomatic approach. And this is where the rub comes in, because I have no idea what we could do diplomatically to dissaude them, or even if it is possible. They are holding a better hand than us and they know it. If the circumstances were different, military force towards Iran may have been the best option, but currently it isn't, and tying ourselves closer to the Israeli's by launching air-strikes against Iran will be both ineffectual and counter-productive.

This is why I'm so pissed at the administration. Their policies have taken us into a position where simultaneously we face both a very real threat, and lack the capability to appropriately respond.


@MSP. I completely missed the sarcasm the first time around.

[Jackalope]

if iran attacked what would keep us from pulling out of iraq? they dont have an army per se at the moment, so they wouldnt be a serious threat, right?

[bbsmitz]

Originally Posted by Jackalope

if iran attacked what would keep us from pulling out of iraq? they dont have an army per se at the moment, so they wouldnt be a serious threat, right?

Nothing, but remember this. We have an obligation to Iraq. We destroyed their infrastructure and their society, promising to bring them freedom and a better life. Right now, the electricity doesn't work, crime has sky-rocketed, religious tensions are through the roof, and the whole situation is threatening ot break down into civil war. We owe it to them to help them as best as we are able, despite the cost to ourselves, until they are back on their feet.

What is best for us is not necessarily that which is right to do.

However, of course, if Iran does attack us, then we must pull our troops away, and this does tie in to what I said with the Iraq situation compromising our ability to deal effectively with IRan.

[Cr@cKpiPe tE@sEr noOb!]

3 words:

We are fucked.

[ivanolo]

...And who should we thank for this?