Iran provoking action

[TMF]

In one week Iran has:

1. Threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz,

2. Provoked/threatened the US Navy by threatening action if our carrier returns to the Gulf,

3. Condemned an American Citizen (and Marine Veteran) to death.

White House has been pretty quiet on all accounts. I understand diplomacy is the best method, but Obama is going to just stand by and let an American (and Veteran) be executed (he's not a spy by the way).

[Caster]

Doesn't matter if it's us or Israel, Iran needs to be dealt with in a bad way.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yep!

[Defender]

...and at the same time, we rescue one of their pirated ships, saving the crew...or maybe Iran didnt notice that?

[MacGyver]

They're going to get spanked sooner or later. I expect the White House is betting against the odds hoping to put it off until after the election - for a variety of reasons both political and narcissistic.

[kieefer]

They're going to get spanked sooner or later. I expect the White House is betting against the odds hoping to put it off until after the election - for a variety of reasons both political and narcissistic.

I've been wondering about this too. I think there's a chance that BHO will start something before the election because past polls show a wartime president usually gets re-elected.

He has kept that hornets nest stirred up since he came in office, it wouldn't surprise me that he would swat it again before the election.

Fuel prices will continue to rise this year which also fuels (pun intended) his green agenda.

The other side would be that he'll campaign against the republicans with the message that they want us back into a another "unjust" war and he is the only one that can resolve it with more sanctions.

It's hard to tell when we are dealing with a dictator.

[Caster]

Personally, I think we should stay out of it physically, but I think it would be good posture to take as well as a good gesture to support Israel while they do it. Ship them several boat loads of guided munitions and UAV's to do it with. I think it fitting for the last thing ahmadinejad sees in this life is "Made in the USA, Delivered by Israel". I'm more than happy to see my tax dollars spent like that, all the while our troops stay out of it. Money well spent.

[kieefer]

Makes a good case of why we should be drilling and pumping our own oil.

Closing the Strait of Hormuz poses a huge amount of problems around the world, I don't know if other countries are taking it as serious as we are or if they are willing to take this on themselves. Guess the UN will decide, that is if King BHO doesn't.

(not mentioning the nuclear threat)

[Mike.357]

Iran will force someones hand before long.

War is good for the wealthy, same with the price of oil.

The price of oil hurts the average person the most, therefor creating a bigger gap between rich and poor furthering a divide in middle class and rich. Which is just what the big O wants

[Guest WyattEarp]

Send in the b-2's, knock out all their telecommunications, transportation depots, arms supply caches, power plants and disable their infrastructure, launch some tomahawks knock out their radar stations and key military assets and sam sites. The military that cant communicate or mobilize, cant function, cant provoke or threaten anyone. No need for war, no need for troops or a ground campaign. Just send them back to the stone age.

[c.a.willard]

Cant believe im about to defend Iran on this forum (david you can ban be later). But a US military linguist on iranian soil is mighty suspicious. I know our military has detained plenty of Iranian citizens in iraq and afghanistan and a link back to their military generally results in a guaranteed long long stay in a detention center typically death when there turned over to local authorities. Closing the straight of hormuz is no different than us or any other nation enacting economic sanctions on another nation. And just out of curiosity i wonder what our reaction would be to an iranian carrier in the gulf of mexico. As far as launching air strikes against them how many inocents will that kill and would that be worth the endstate. The best solution to the middle east dilema is to realise there is no good solution and just leave it alone.

[Caster]

Cant believe im about to defend Iran on this forum (david you can ban be later). But a US military linguist on iranian soil is mighty suspicious. I know our military has detained plenty of Iranian citizens in iraq and afghanistan and a link back to their military generally results in a guaranteed long long stay in a detention center typically death when there turned over to local authorities. Closing the straight of hormuz is no different than us or any other nation enacting economic sanctions on another nation. And just out of curiosity i wonder what our reaction would be to an iranian carrier in the gulf of mexico. As far as launching air strikes against them how many inocents will that kill and would that be worth the endstate. The best solution to the middle east dilema is to realise there is no good solution and just leave it alone.

Sure. Never mind the maniacal SOB who's openly admitted to working toward a useable nuclear weapon and who has also openly stated that he plans to use them against another nation [israel]. He needs to go. Now. I apologize for being selfish by advocating arial bombardment. I do have a soft spot for US and Israeli soldiers though.

[c.a.willard]

I knew this would be a sensitive statement when i wrote it but it still holds true. As far as a soft spot for those in the service i so far have 9 1/2 years in the military and a huge soft spot for the soldiers i have trained and mentored. They are very much like family to me. So far only one government has ever actually used nuclear weapons yet we still have them. If isreal wants to go to war let them. They pride themselfs on being an independant nation let them be independant not a subset of the US. How much would the arab nations want to kill us if we hadnt been meddling in their national affairs for the last few decades. Im not all peaceniky i just beleave your reap what you sew.

[Guest lostpass]

Put yourself in the place of Iran for a moment. Afghanistan has been invaded twice. Iraq has been invaded twice. Those are your neighbors. The other evil nation, North Korea, hasn't been invaded. What does North Korea have that you don't? An effing nuclear weapon. So, if I'm Iran, the thing I want to protect myself, more than anything else, is nuclear weapons.

That said, man they are doing it wrong. They're trying to get a nuke and being provocative before they have it. I'd be really friendly and happy as to not give anyone an excuse to blow me up until I had a nujke. And once I had one I would make sure everyone knew I had a nuke.

But that is theocracy for ya, not always the best decisions.

[Guest WyattEarp]

Cant believe im about to defend Iran on this forum (david you can ban be later). But a US military linguist on iranian soil is mighty suspicious. I know our military has detained plenty of Iranian citizens in iraq and afghanistan and a link back to their military generally results in a guaranteed long long stay in a detention center typically death when there turned over to local authorities. Closing the straight of hormuz is no different than us or any other nation enacting economic sanctions on another nation. And just out of curiosity i wonder what our reaction would be to an iranian carrier in the gulf of mexico. As far as launching air strikes against them how many inocents will that kill and would that be worth the endstate. The best solution to the middle east dilema is to realise there is no good solution and just leave it alone.

So an islamic country that funnels money to terrorist organizations who then use that money to fund terrorist activities which result in the loss of american interests, lives, assets, and those belonging to our allies should simply be overlooked and they should be left alone?

Wow. Im not quite sure what to say that.

At the mimimum, we should help and support the Iranian citizens in an overthrow of the Iranian government regime.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yeh, I'm with Caster and Wyatt on this. I'm at a loss for words, though.

I need to see what kind of World History they teach nowadays.

[TMF]

Cant believe im about to defend Iran on this forum (david you can ban be later). But a US military linguist on iranian soil is mighty suspicious. I know our military has detained plenty of Iranian citizens in iraq and afghanistan and a link back to their military generally results in a guaranteed long long stay in a detention center typically death when there turned over to local authorities.

I know of many Iranians who were detained in Iraq (who were conducting train/assist/advise operations for the enemy) who were released back to Iran. Sure, some may earn a stay at a detention facility for a bit to be exploited, but we haven't executed any, and as far as I know the Iraqis haven't either... it's not as easy to get a death sentence carried out in Iraq as you think. The fact is Iran is going to execute an American citizen. Many linguists have ties back to their native country. Many of my American citizen interpreters I had in Iraq still visited family there. That doesn't make him a spy. If Obama/Hillary stand by and let this guy get executed they will have shown the American people and the world what their level of resolve is. This man being executed carries bigger implications than just one person dying.

I heavily endorse diplomacy over military action. I also acknowledge that there is nothing we can do to make the Iranian leadership less crazy. The line in the sand has to be drawn somewhere, and if executing American citizens isn't it.... well...?

[Guest WyattEarp]

I need to see what kind of World History they teach nowadays.

Alex, I'll take Bleeding Heart Sympathy for Evildoers 101 for $500.

Edited January 10, 2012 by WyattEarp

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Dunno what to think.

Maybe the situation is clearer for insiders with access to top-secret intelligence. On the other hand, intelligence is routinely caught by surprise. They didn't even see in advance the imminent balkanization of the USSR. So maybe they know a lot about the situation and still don't know nothin?

Sometimes it resembles tails wagging dogs. Or perhaps that is too paranoid.

Remember Lucy and the football? Is this Iran carp the same as the bad-intelligence run-up to the Iraq Invasion? How many times can Charley Brown get fooled?

Edited January 10, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[strickj]

...and at the same time, we rescue one of their pirated ships, saving the crew...or maybe Iran didnt notice that?

I giggled when I saw the rescued ship's crew wearing navy caps on the news.

[TMF]

Remember Lucy and the football? Is this Iran carp the same as the bad-intelligence run-up to the Iraq Invasion? How many times can Charley Brown get fooled?

Yeah, the last thing on our mind should be invasion. Sanctions and international support against a nuclear Iran need to be the way to go, and it needs to be done in such a manner that we can prevent Israel from a preemptive strike against Iran. However, for actions such as executing an American Citizen there must be a direct and appropriate retaliation. This is on the White House to do, not delegating it down to the PAO for 5th Fleet like they've been doing. Obama/Hillary need to address this directly.

I respect the position Obama is in; he's probably doing a face-palm over this because being President is just so dang hard, but that's what being a President is all about. I'm ashamed and disgusted that nothing is being done. If they hang this American we lose a lot more than just one American; we would have just sent a message to every government and anti-US organization around the world that it is open season on Americans.

[Caster]

Yeah, the last thing on our mind should be invasion. .

Right, think of the people there. Remember, Iran was a decent ally of our before the people in charge there took over.

[Mike.357]

Obama would have no problem doing the right thing if reelection was not the main concern.

[Guest bkelm18]

In my personal opinion I think it's just for show. They're gonna parade him around and say "This is what happens when you spy" then they'll release him to show what good people they are. I doubt he'll actually be executed.

[TMF]

In my personal opinion I think it's just for show. They're gonna parade him around and say "This is what happens when you spy" then they'll release him to show what good people they are. I doubt he'll actually be executed.

I hope so. I had the same thoughts initially, but with all the sabre rattling that's been going on I'm not so sure. I guess we'll find out the first week of February. If they go through with it a precedent has been set. I've flown commercial before that went through Iranian airspace... I can't help but wonder what would happen now if there was a mechanical issue that caused our flight to have to land in Tehran. I'm sure I'd be sitting right where he is in that scenario and I'd like to believe that my Country's leadership was doing everything it could to secure my freedom.