Chuckles,
Being a veteran isn’t the only way of doing something for everyone else in this country. There are other ways to serve your country.
“I think you are VERY wrong here. Otherwise, Hussein would have had nukes when Gulf War I broke out. No. you ARE very wrong. I do not just ‘think’ it. The Israeli strike on his nuclear facilities destroyed his chance to have such weapons before GW1 occurred.”
Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in my explanation but I meant that a strike on Iran’s nuclear capacity WILL result in a greatly increased threat of terrorism against Americans. I think you took my statement to mean that a strike on their nuclear capacity would somehow increase the threat of them getting nukes which I would agree isn’t true.
I AM NOT against hitting them. But iran isn’t iraq or syria. There’s a good chance they’ll strike back. I agree that if they do it’s better for us in the long run because it allows us to open up more thoroughly on them. What bothers me is the dismissal of the possibility that this won’t simply be a case (like iraq or syria) of them sitting there getting bombed and doing nothing substantial in return.
I don’t disagree with your example of the power of ‘respect’ or what’s more accurately described as fear. But as you note yourself, they stopped fucking with the Russians because of that response. What was ours?
As for bloody, that’s my point. Before we do anything I want it acknowledged that it’ll be both ours and theirs. It’ll certainly be more of theirs than ours but the suggestion we’re not losing any is outrageous. I agree also that compared to the alternative of them getting and using nukes it’s nothing but I think it irresponsible to not make folks aware of the potential for ‘blood’ being lost on our side. The way some up here are talking it’s as though we’ll drop some bombs, beat the living hell out of the iranian punks and then walk off into the sunshine without so much as a hair being out of place while they run off cringing in fear. Forgive me for suggesting things won’t go quite like that.
“The students in Iran are growing ever more sick and tired of their Mullahs. You just don’t care to recognize that.”
It’s not that I don’t care to recognize it, I just don’t agree with the significance of it. There are disaffected and upset segments of populations in every country in the world. That doesn’t mean they’re about to overthrow the government. Even if we helped them. I think that’s wishful thinking. It would certainly be a welcome development from our perspective, I just don’t think it’s realistic to count on it as a possibility. If an uprising happens as a result of outside intervention, great! But I would propose that a brutal crackdown by the regime is much more likely after an outside attack.
As for Iraq, you’re correct about changing circumstances there but also note that’s after several years of occupation and extensive conflict. It wasn’t the case at the beginning or during the first few years when there WERE a sizable portion of Iraqis fighting against us contrary to some proclamations and predictions.
I guess that’s why they call it the “fog of war”…
Finding solutions to even some of the simplest puzzles can get foggy at times and I doubt you or anyone else would suggest military affairs to be simple.
“You’re trying to change the subject here, aren’t you. Now you want to talk economics.” “Gee. Who’d a thunk it. So what…”
Not changing the subject, just noting that military affairs are connected to several other aspects of international affairs and it’s the successful application of all them in coordination that leads to victory. Just like the successful application of all your military power in proper coordination is required to effectively succeed in a conflict, the same is true in the larger sense in foreign affairs. That ‘so what’ comment is the precise reason why I think it’s important to note. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying before that it’s possible to win the battle and lose the war. It matters. The larger context certainly matters.
“Give it a rest. You’re grasping at whatever straw you can now…”
Aw come on! I thought we were just starting to have fun!
