Let me say I feel you and A_3PO are posters I respect on the "opposition" of the political forum and think highly of, but I think there is a lack of understanding on my stance and the tactics we should go forth with... I thought it was clear because I posted so is that my preference is for a drawdown because I feel a smaller, more mobile force goes against the weakness of a predictable, slow, larger and logistically bound force...In addition to increasing pressure for Iraqis to perform... Iran is meddling in a manner which contributes to terror and the insurgents against us, and you may not want to accept this, but the multiple articles scream that there is smoke... This changes the game and we need to address that strategically...I'm not calling for an unthinking Hitleresque eastern front charge. I calling for a pause to rethink the game because of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and other elements of Iran... Iran needs to be addressed, and at least by labeling the IRG as such, we put pressure on monetary ease...That is a start...The next thing is to decide whether a drawdown now makes sense regarding the positives reported by those who have reported recently... I think it's right to have the carriers there, and to keep more if possible...My own feeling is despite the gains, yes we need to drawdown to BETTER address Iran soon...
There are those on the right that don't represent the right, but they are on the right... Then again, there are groups and persons on the left, that don't represent the left as a whole,...BUT, they are on the left... Change the title to:... Iran: not so easily defended BY SOME on the left... I apologize if it seemed I was attacking everybody on the left...
WOW! I'm shocked. Good job guy. If you always avoided the broad brush when it doesn't apply, the debates here would be more civil and fact-based. This would also separate you from people like T.J, who are pretty much hopeless. Even with the thread title change, I would suggest that posting stuff from fringe groups doesn't do any good because those kooks don't represent many people. Post objectionable stuff from Democratic members of Congress or leading Dem think tanks who actually speak for large segments. They provide enough material to criticize without reaching over to the left ditch. For that matter, Hillary, Obama, Edwards and Pelosi provide enough material by themselves.
Thanks for the compliment but you and I probably agree on more issues that you think. I'm obviously more anti-Bush than you are. Good to see you agree on the drawdown. On Iran's meddling, no sane person would deny it's happening. What else do people expect? After having Saddam on their border, they are gonna make sure they own whatever replaces him. Plus, they want to thwart everything we do because we are their enemies. I'm not justifying their support of terrorism against our troops, just explaining it. I agree with ratcheting up the pressure on Iran (including some saber rattling) to the point of devastating economic sanctions. Military action against Iran would be a huge mistake and would open another can of worms and escalate terrorism to another level.
Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are causing chaos in Iraq. Our response to both countries should be the same, but it is largely not. Singling Iran out for punishment while signing arms deals with Saudi defies logic.
The best solution for Iran would be for the people of Iran to overthrow the theocratic dictatorship. In my opinion, the majority of Iranians oppose it. Given time, perhaps they'll do something about the mullahs and their thugs. Regardless, I don't want Bush invading another country. It would be far better to wait for another President, whoever he/she happen to be. The odds of Bush's replacement being as incompetent as he has proven himself to be are pretty slim. Meanwhile, the best way to reduce American casualties in Iraq is to reduce America's presence in Iraq. D&D. Impeach Bush and Cheney.
Kill them with kindness Bomb them with love We are a Christian Nation We worship the the same God up above Send them blue jeans and color TV's With free internet service So they can be see The 12th century is a thing of the past We can all have our own Ipods We can all watch Shakira shake her ass If it worked with Red China And with the Soviet bear And our self indulgent temptation Will work over there And one last word For what it's worth No one can use nukes Without wiping out the whole planet Earth If our holy leaders can't see that abomibation Then f*ck it anyway We are a wothless civilization And I for one Will will greet the approaches Of our new overlords The mutant cockroaches
Innocent little story http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/05/loose.nukes/index.html And its damning implication http://tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/sep/05/staging_nuke_for_iran ps: dude is ex-CIA For those who long for war(s), time to take out the drum! Duum duum duum dum duuuummmmm! Everyone else prepare to weep.
Whoa! That a pretty freaky story. I'm inclined to believe the interpretation. Any other President in office, no, but with this guy?? D&D. Impeach Bush and Cheney!
Easier done than said, having the people of Iran overthrow the regime. Also as long as we ratchet up the pressure the harder it is for a people's revolution. Iran like every country will act to a perceived threat external threat by tightening its grip on domestic security and also making patriotic appeals to rally the people. My own view is a softer approach will actually make it more likely for dissatisfaction to rise among the Iranians leading to eventually removing the regime.
I don't want to get too tied up in speculation but I agree that something seems odd about how much play this story has and why an aircraft heading for decomissioning would be carrying armaments of any sort.
OH MY GOD, NOT THE LEFT!?!?!?! My subscription to "the left's" mailing list must have lapsed, I still haven't received my Iran-apologist package and Ahmadinejad action figure
My reading of the story was the missiles were being decommissioned, not the aircraft. The aircraft was being used to transport the missiles, and the warheads were supposed to be removed beforehand.
That would make more sense but at the sametime if the missiles were being decomissioned why bother with loading them onto a B-52 instead of just carrying them on a cargo flight or by train? I don't know enough about military practices to know if this is standard procedure.
Dunno, maybe because they are designed to be carried by B-52's and they were being moved from one B-52 base to another, so there is no need to pack them and no need to bring in a plane from somewhere else.
