Analysts: US strategy on Iran may have backfired RAW STORY Published: Tuesday April 3, 2007 Print This Email This Some analysts believe that the Bush Administration's strategy on Iran may have backfired, according to an article in Tuesday's L.A. Times. "It seemed like a good idea at the time: Increase the military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran to get the country to bow to the international community on its nuclear enrichment program and curtail its alleged troublemaking in Iraq," Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim write for the L.A. Times. "But now, with 15 British sailors and marines held captive and Tehran threatening to withhold its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, that strategy has apparently backfired." Analysts tell the paper, "Months of hard-nosed U.S. political and military pressure on Iran may have further radicalized and emboldened the regime, undermining Washington's stated aim of neutralizing the Iranian threat without resorting to war." http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Analysts_US_strategy_on_Iran_may_0403.html
CNN BREAKING: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he has pardoned the 15 British sailors and marines detained last month and will set them free. WOW!!!
Was there any announcement from Britain about their location? Someone tell Bush that diplomacy DOES work. DD
I'm not going to agree or disagree with the article, but I don't see it as being newsworthy IMO. There are analysts who think it works, and analysts who think it doesn't work.
It is true. We often times get the news earliest here. Even years before the mainstream media such as the NYT. I am thinking about Niger uranium, little flying dirigibles(?) with which Sadam could have attacked the US mainland with biochemical wmd's etc. Sometimes the news never gets to Fox and Limbaugh even years later.
well this case is somewhat different than the others. lets not act like there is no diplomacy with bush, see n. korea.
yes, lets look at north korea. there were 3 countries that bush foolishly lumped into the "axis of evil". out of the 3 north korea is the only one to actually develop nuclear weapons and admit it, yet we do nothing. how is that a diplomatic success for bush? iraq had no nuclear weapons but we invaded. iran has no nuclear weapons and our own intelligence estimates put them at 5 - 10 years away from having one, but we are threatening them everyday. why is north korea allowed to get away with it? they are part of the "axis of evil", right? the one country of the 3 to actually do something is the one we let alone. how is that a diplomatic success for bush?
I'll take a stab at this one. They don't have a leader who seems to fan the flames daily? They aren't helping to get American soldiers killed? They aren't run by a religious fanatic who rants and raves about wanting one of our allies wiped off the map? As bad as North Korea may be, they have political motives. They wanted things like money. Iran and N. Korea are vastly different.
The NK regime is probably more fanatical and unpredictable than Iran. Iran has an opposition movement and elections. Iran also isn't a hermit kingdom like NK. As for wiping allies off the map NK has said on several occasions if attacked the will turn SK into a sea of fire and also attack Japan. Unlike Iran NK actually has the means to carry that out.
I don't agree NK is unpredictable, NK is a blackmailing extortionist, they want money/fuel/respect, which makes them pretty predictable. You can be sure next time when NK want something, they will break the treaty they have signed, shout some rhetorics until they get the money and everyone acknowledges their "Important Player" status.
the thing about NK is that Kim is too concerned with preserving his own life and riches to start anything that could threaten that. when he makes noise, its more than likely because his country needs more food for its army
Iraq did not have nukes and Bush/Cheney knew it. Therefore they attacked. N. Korea. does so they don't attack or invade. Iran needs nukes to keep Bush/Cheney and the neocons from attacking. Fortunately for Iran, the Iraqi resistance has tied up the US military and given Iran a window of opportunity to develop these nukes before Bush/Cheny and the neocons invade or massively bomb them. This is not to discount the present,hopefully to be extended, tiredness of Americans in general for elective wars.
