ISRAEL - IRAN - SYRIA - HAMAS - HEZBOLLAH - WWWIII?

Infrablue, I just returned from visiting the 5-stans of Central Asia. Most of the countries we visited are over 80-percent Sunni Muslims, but most women in those countries do not wear burkas. As a matter of fact, it's against the law to promote religion in public in Turkmenistan.

Most of the people we met, both young and old, were very friendly towards us - even after we told them we were from "America."

On our flight back to the states, I met an American gentleman who organizes tours into Iran; he has a home in San Francisco and in Tehran. He said "all" Iranians are friendly towards Americans, and he even organizes tours for National Geographic.

ican and his ilk will never understand that all Muslims are not our enemy.

0 Replies

cicerone imposter wrote:

Infrablue, I just returned from visiting the 5-stans of Central Asia. Most of the countries we visited are over 80-percent Sunni Muslims, but most women in those countries do not wear burkas. As a matter of fact, it's against the law to promote religion in public in Turkmenistan.

Most of the people we met, both young and old, were very friendly towards us - even after we told them we were from "America."

On our flight back to the states, I met an American gentleman who organizes tours into Iran; he has a home in San Francisco and in Tehran. He said "all" Iranians are friendly towards Americans, and he even organizes tours for National Geographic.

ican and his ilk will never understand that all Muslims are not our enemy.

In Cooke's piece, he talks about religion as if it were the main difference between Palestinian extremists and Israel.

It's clearly little to do with religion now, if it ever was. In fact many of the religious Jews are against what the state is doing.

And of course, people of all religions lived together in relative peace and harmony in Palestine before the 20th Century. And in Mesopotamia, for that matter.

0 Replies

As a matter of fact, there are many countries today with many different religions living in peace, and that includes Muslims, Christians and Jews. Tunisia is a very good example; they've lived in "peace" for centuries, and the oldest synagogue in the world is located there.

0 Replies

cicerone imposter wrote:

...
ican and his ilk will never understand that all Muslims are not our enemy.

You, cice, are unlikely to ever understand that ican understands that NOT all Muslims are our enemy.

Only those Muslims that have gangsters who mass murder non-murderers among them and do not even attempt or even ask for help to remove these gangsters among them, much less actually remove them, are accomplices of those gangsters.

0 Replies

cicerone imposter wrote:

On our flight back to the states, I met an American gentleman who organizes tours into Iran; he has a home in San Francisco and in Tehran. He said "all" Iranians are friendly towards Americans, and he even organizes tours for National Geographic.

Has he interviewed ALL Iranians, or was he engaging in hyperbole?

0 Replies

Israel Signs Prisoner Swap Agreement With Hezbollah link

0 Replies

I am in the casual acquaintance of folks who conduct oil drilling schools all over the Middle East and they really like the Iranians as well as the Iraqis. The problem isn't and has never been with the 'man in the street' much of anywhere.

I do seem to be seeing the issue of Israel and the Iranian nuclear program coming up more and more often on the radio and TV talk show circuit however. It is suggested that Israel won't wait to deal with the problem until they are already in the crosshairs. It has further been suggested that if Israel acts, they are likely to act while they are assured of having President George W. Bush at their back rather than take a chance on what a President Obama might or might not do.

http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/lb0704cd.jpg

0 Replies

It's time to remove the current Iranian government, and replace it with a newly elected one.

0 Replies

ican711nm wrote:

It's time to remove the current Iranian government, and replace it with a newly elected one.

It's time to remove you, and replace you with somebody more sensible.
Or a thick-ish plank of wood.

0 Replies

ican711nm wrote:

It's time to remove the current Iranian government, and replace it with a newly elected one.

The news this morning reports that the current Iranian govenrment is launching a bunch of missiles as tests--some quite capable of reaching Israel. That makes the cartoon here all that much more plausible.

0 Replies

Foxfyre wrote:

The news this morning reports that the current Iranian govenrment is launching a bunch of missiles as tests--some quite capable of reaching Israel. That makes the cartoon here all that much more plausible.

The current Iranian government is responding to a 100-aircraft Israeli bomber excercise apparently preparatory to a strike on Iranian nuclear installations.
A bit of sabre-rattling going on, but it's not all Iranian.

0 Replies

McTag wrote:

Foxfyre wrote:

The news this morning reports that the current Iranian govenrment is launching a bunch of missiles as tests--some quite capable of reaching Israel. That makes the cartoon here all that much more plausible.

The current Iranian government is responding to a 100-aircraft Israeli bomber excercise apparently preparatory to a strike on Iranian nuclear installations.
A bit of sabre-rattling going on, but it's not all Iranian.

I seriously doubt there were 100 aircraft involved in the Israeli exercise.

The issue here is that the pattern of actions being taken by the Iranian government fundamentally contradict the rather defensive rhetoric with which it has clouded and rationalized its activities. Though occasionally their president allows his belligerence and defiance to be revealed. While there are profound and long-standing political divides within Iran, the government there is in the hands of religious zealots who see the current age as one of conflict between a resurgent Islam and a decadent modern world. They are not likely to be persuaded to alter their fundamental assumptions by even the most modern and polished Eurocrats or their counterparts within the American left. We must decide whether time is on our side with respect to internal political developments within Iran, and the region generally.

This is a complex but critical overlay of important issues ranging from the confrontation certain quarters within the Islamic world seek with the West; to the massive transfers of wealth involved in the petroleum market; the inherent complexities of the Middle East with its ghastly relics of failed European Imperialist policies throughout the 20th century (augmented by American attempts toi sustain some of them during the Cold war); and the evolving new strategic situation vis a vis Russia and China. No simple answers here, and most of the "conventional wisdom" of self appointed political commentators with respect to Iraq and out strategy generally is woefully superficial and lacking in a comprehension of the complexities involved.

0 Replies

to McTag: Perhaps not, but I've seen nobody in Israel pledging the annihilation and destruction of Iran. The Iranians, however, have been pledging the annihilation and destruction of Israel for some time, have a leader who is crazy enough to try it, and nuclear weapons would give them the means.

I see a definite difference between what Israel might feel compelled to do and what Iran has been doing all along.

0 Replies

I think Israel will attempt to take out the Iranian nuclear bases/ manufacturing capability, and I for one would not condemn them if they do: for reasons outlined by Foxy.

But if they do, and even if they are 100% successful, I'm not sure what they will have achieved in the long term- buying some time probably is all they could hope for. As George said, there are no easy answers, and no attractive options. The best outcome would be a change of heart by the Iranian religious leaders, but there seems to be no chance of that happening, and depressingly, martyrdom for their combatants seems to be accepted with equanimity.

0 Replies

georgeob1 wrote:

McTag wrote:
Foxfyre wrote:

The news this morning reports that the current Iranian govenrment is launching a bunch of missiles as tests--some quite capable of reaching Israel. That makes the cartoon here all that much more plausible.

The current Iranian government is responding to a 100-aircraft Israeli bomber excercise apparently preparatory to a strike on Iranian nuclear installations.
A bit of sabre-rattling going on, but it's not all Iranian.

I seriously doubt there were 100 aircraft involved in the Israeli exercise.

Well you might be right. Here's the BBC report, where I got the figure from.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7465170.stm

0 Replies

That would be a very short term solution, but will increase their enemies ten-fold by nuking Iran. All the surrounding countries will not just sit and watch the destruction of a neighboring Muslim country by Israel and let it go without some kind of response. I just don't see how Israel can "get away" with it.

I'd like to see other viewpoints on this issue.

0 Replies

Here's a Wiki article on the Israeli Air Force: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Air_Force

0 Replies

My cpmputer is defect.
C I
Here is an artictle relevant to this subject.

"From the very beginning, the American crusade of surge and siege - with much of it predating the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; think to early 20th century agreements with Saudi royalty of protection for petroleum, or the overthrow of Iran's democratically elected nationalist leader, or CIA coups and installing of tyranny, or support for Saddam, or provocations of war, or fanning the flames of violence, or importation of billions worth of weapons - has been a catastrophe for the people of the Middle East. For years the United States has guided policy and fates in the region, with its unchallenged domination of and immoral support in the regimes of the Middle East causing a complete devolution of a dynamic, intelligent and proud amalgam of peoples, continuing a stagnation of a civilization that has given humanity so much, and which has so much yet to offer.

It has been the support of tyrants, dictators, generals, kings, princes and sheiks which has had the most profound effect in the lives of tens of millions of Arabs and Muslims, altering, perhaps indefinitely, the very foundations of a culture, and religion, that has for centuries been bombarded by the Judeo-Christian values of the western world. From Napoleon to Hitler, from the British Empire of old to the American Empire of today, from French domination of the Levant to the ceaseless criminality of Little Sparta in Palestine, the Middle East has been invaded, colonized, raped, pillaged, oppressed and exploited by western powers for decades."

http://www.valenzuelasveritas.blogspot.com/

0 Replies

Anything is possible; Vietnam and Iraq wars were started on false information fed to the American people.

At this juncture in Bush's tenure, he has everything to gain by starting another war to improve his performance rating and support.

History is bound to repeat itself - soon.

0 Replies

McTag wrote:

I think Israel will attempt to take out the Iranian nuclear bases/ manufacturing capability, and I for one would not condemn them if they do: for reasons outlined by Foxy.

But if they do, and even if they are 100% successful, I'm not sure what they will have achieved in the long term- buying some time probably is all they could hope for. As George said, there are no easy answers, and no attractive options. The best outcome would be a change of heart by the Iranian religious leaders, but there seems to be no chance of that happening, and depressingly, martyrdom for their combatants seems to be accepted with equanimity.

I just HATE it when you are reasonable and force me to appreciate your perspective on something. Smile

You are correct that there are no attractive options at this point. I was watching an analysis on TV tonight including Robert Gates and others. Here's what we have:

1. Israel cannot afford to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons along with a delivery system that can launch those against Israel.

2. Iran and Syria have armed Hezbollah with tens of thousands of rockets that will undoubtedly be launched against Israel at such time as Israel makes any kind of aggressive move against Iran. This of course has occurred right under the nose of the UN peacekeepers.

3. The UN as usual is toothless and will not do anything to either intervene or diffuse the situation.

4. And the U.S.A. has a defense pact with Israel that could be forced if there is an active attack on Israel.

5. And Russia, who for a long time has had political and emotional ties to Iran, may have to consider what to do should Iran be attacked by anybody other than Israel.

The best we can hope for is that the Iranian leaders are not of the martyr type and will decide a death wish is not in their best interest even if Israel does take out their nuclear capability.

I was watching "So You Think You Can Dance" tonight and, following an especially entertaining Indian cultural dance routine, it was said how wonderful it would be if nations would engage in cultural exchanges of dance instead of what they now do.

I agree with that wholeheartedly.

0 Replies

ISRAEL - IRAN - SYRIA - HAMAS - HEZBOLLAH - WWWIII?

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know