Diatribune - Iran - Comments

I don't think it's even

epppie — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 08:06:12 -0600

I don't think it's even clear that violence has been reduced. US military deaths have been reduced (Thank God) via payment of protection money, and REPORTING HAS BEEN REDUCED!!

Proving the public can stop

Jacob Freeze — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:31:46 -0600

Proving the public can stop an attack on Iran is like proving that pigs can fly.

First, you add some pigeon genes to the pig genome, then you inbreed all the pigs that show a little tendency to grow wings, and repeat this process for a hundred or a thousand generations.

Voilà! A flying pig!

But the public and the major players in politics and the media would have to be transformed even more radically than flying pigs before they would support a general strike, and we don't have a hundred generations to transform them.

Beyond writing blogs or

Jacob Freeze — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:40:08 -0600

Beyond writing blogs or letters to Congress, can you suggest anything else anyone can do to avert this disaster?

In the last seven years, a great many progressives have written blogs and letters to Congress, with no visible effect.

Hey, thought you might be

alexwierbinski — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:36:15 -0700

Hey, thought you might be interested in these tidbits of info:

U.S. Iraq Role Is Called Illegal by Saudi King, NYT March 29, 2007

Saudis’ Role in Iraq Frustrates U.S. Officials, NYT, July 27, 2007

U.S. Arms Plan for Mideast Aims to Counter Iranian Power, NYT, July 31, 2007

Bush Delivers Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia, ap, January 14, 2008

essay, 7-07: Bush Wars Push Saudi Arabia out of American Axis

essay, 1-14-08: The bubbling regional war to pick up speed?

So, it appears that the first support for the iraq resistance in al anbar came from the saudis. We fought the saudi subsidized insurgency tooth and nail, leveling falluja in the process.

Then, we realisied that by taking out saddam, we had created a ready-made ally for iran with our iraqi invasion. This made the sunni resistance fighters (against our authority) in al anbar an atractive counter-weight to check the rise in influence of iran that our invasions initiated.

Realising that the sunnis could provide a counterweight to the now shite dominanted iraqi state, we cut a deal with the sunni, who still deny our authority in iraq, to mutually counter the shite dominanted government. In fact, we have gunned up the whole middle east, offering massive weapons systems to the saudis, israelis, egyptians, and a handfull of the gulf emeriates.

On the other hand, russia and china have strengthened their ties with iran.

It is clear that the sunnis (the saudi allies) in al anbar will turn on us as the situation requires. It is clear that the iranians and iraqi shite will turn on us as the situation requires. (think al sadre)

We sit in the middle of this self-created mess, arming all sides. (we have throughly gunned up the shite dominated iraqi military and police)

So, it appears that blaming the iranians for messing up our war and occupation is a stalking horse for the administration's drive to attack iran to attempt to recover from the strategic damage our blundering wars in iraq and afghanistan have wrough on our middle eastern empire.

It looks like the solution to our failed wars is shaping up to be more war.

Hey, check sala out. Now,

alexwierbinski — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:10:53 -0700

Hey, check sala out.

Now, don't get me wrong. I also believe that bush is looking for some justification to bomb Iran into the stone age.

It seems to me that any sacrifices, such as the 5th fleet, would come about as part of a significant iranian response to an israeli or american air attack.

The iranians have been practicing hard for just such a scenario.

This essay does not give them much of a chance in the water.

I tend to believe the USN will sink all of their naval forces short order. But I also give a high probability of success to a swarm attack by very small, very highly-powered craft that are missile-equipped.

The scenario of the iranian response is know. Iran would begin serious military and subversive land activities against the ring of arabic dictators, consisting of saudi arabia, egypt, and jordan that surround isreal.

A regional land war would probably ensue, and bush would have to keep his commander in chief powers for the duration of the war on terror.

check out thes links, consisting of iranian news abstracts from the last year.

good post

Yes, President Bush has been

Catzoned — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:32:52 -0600

Yes, President Bush has been threatening action against Iran for quite some time now. The guy must still be living in a gilded cage as he has done his entire life. But it is ridiculous to drag the entire country, it’s greatest assets in uniform, and it’s fortune into his fantasy life. He seems to be clueless as to how the war in Iraq is actually failing. And he entirely missed the point of appropriate military action in Afghanistan to pursue bin Laden and the Taliban insurgents to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq instead of “staying the course” to finish that post 9/11 effort. Is it possible that President Bush is unaware that he has bankrupted America in his two failed wars? Is it possible that he believes “heck, if one or two wars fails let’s find one that I can actually win”? I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t understand the man so am open to ideas about him and his and Cheneys ideology. Because I don’t get it!

I would like to remind people that the only way to acquire more “military assets is a mandatory draft”. He may crazy enough to not believe in climate change but to deny the effects of nuclear fallout is seriously insane. Will he stoop to the level of mandatory draft to achieve his goals?

Let’s hope the Congress, the U.N. and the citizenry can reach through his dementia. They’ve been ineffective up to this point. Are we supposed to wait to see if he just runs out of time in office before he can wreak more havoc? How do we stop this madman? I don’t think we’ve the luxury of just waiting him out until the next election.

the calypso song "no,

fake consultant — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:16:47 -0600

the calypso song "no, doctor, no" by mighty sparrow advises using a "big piece of mango wood" for much the same purpose in trinidad.

'twas ever thus.

A first-class stamp costs

Jacob Freeze — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:24:20 -0600

A first-class stamp costs $0.41. A brick costs $0.38.

You can have a lot of fun writing letters to Congress, but you can also have a lot of fun with a brick.

Complicity of the media:

epppie — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:39:56 -0600

Complicity of the media: ABC news has been relying on a fabricator in its Iran war drumbeat.

http://www.attytood.com/2007/09/the_disgraced_abc_consultant_a.html

Heh ;-) Interesting point -

Mentarch — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:30:44 -0600

Heh ;-)

Interesting point - and curious indeed!

If the violence subsides,

epppie — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:05:31 -0600

If the violence subsides, that will be a good thing. And no doubt the Republicans will hail the success of their policies, if that happens.
Never mind the obvious issues of whether the violence should have happened in the first place.

But I think that the violence will not go down at all, unless the Peace and Reconciliation approach being pushed by Finland works. That's the path to peace, not military "surges" and certainly not attacks on Iran.

The bullshittiness of the administration's policies never seems to cease. They can kiss and make up with former Sunni foes, who have killed Americans, but not with Iran, who has ALLEGEDLY killed Americans via proxies (and has ALLEGEDLY had it's soldiers killed by American proxies).

The solution is the same as its been for years, but I suspect the administration will find a way to prevent it until they get their effectively permanent bases and an oil law that effectively signs away Iraq's resources to US companies.

Sunni Allies in Anbar

Limelite — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:54:23 -0600

Sunni Allies in Anbar province have been growing since June of this year, correct? In early August the (Sunni) Dulaimi tribe allied with the US to fight al-Qaeda. I wonder when the Sunni-responsible insurgent attacks will begin to subside?

I suppose the Bush administration won't hesitate to claim these small Sunni gains, and possibly al-Sadr's actions as "progress taking place in Iraq."

If increasing numbers of Sunni tribes join Sheik Ali Majid al-Dulaimi and the Mahdi Army cease fire holds, I will have to admit -- pain me though it does -- there's some truth to that clim. I'll take comfort in the fact that it's a win-win for Dems because they can still say, "Bring our troops home. They're no longer needed in the face of all that progress."

It's my understanding that

epppie — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 00:40:31 -0600

It's my understanding that in general the Sunni insurgents have been responsible for by far the most attacks, probably supported by Saudi Arabia. I really think you put too much emphasis on Iran's ambitions. There are a lot of players in the region with ambitions. But it DOES sound like Iran is doing some repositioning. I'm glad to see that, especially if it leads to fewer casualties for us and for the Iraqis, but I worry about it being the result of Bush's threats to attack. I worry that it will lead Americans to think that his Bully Diplomacy actually works, when as far as I can see the best he can hope for is to bet back to where things were before he came into power, and not really that.

Only the Mahdi Army attacks,

Limelite — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 23:09:42 -0600

Only the Mahdi Army attacks, one -- though, admittedly probably the largest -- militia among the many same, or otherwise labeled "insurgents."

I learned late tonight that Iran has replaced the head of the Republican Guard, a position that has been untouched for at least a decade. Somethings is afoot. And I bet that the rigid clerics are wondering if their power is being challenged what with diplomatic overtures to Egypt, a call to cease using the Mahdi Army against Americans in Iraq, and that "changing of the Revolutionary Guard."

You don't need a graduate degree in foreign policy studies to see there are dots that need connecting.

It's not a personal comment.

epppie — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:23:29 -0600

It's not a personal comment. It's a recognition of what you are doing, for which I am grateful.