Nextonthelist

The rumors are building and the sabers are rattling. Could it be that President George W. Bush finally will put action behind the war of words toward Iran? Some writers from the UK Telegraph seem to think so ( Bush setting America up for war with Iran):

Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran.

Though the sources are unnamed, the recent flurry of activity and the rare French comment essentially saying war in on the horizon, make for some interesting speculation.

What is most likely happening here is a calculated PR campaign to push Iran to meaningful dialogue. It’s common knowledge that Iran is fighting a proxy war by supporting and supplying insurgents in Iraq (and from their perspective, why not?). The negative sentiment that surrounds Bush and the hostility he faces from Congress make taking Iran head-on a politically dangerous move.

Does Bush have the guts to take on Iran? Do the American people have the guts? The military aspect of the confrontation would be easy enough initially. The superiority of US war machine can quickly and decisively dismantle tactical and strategic targets. The bigger questions will be “what next” after the bombing. Like Saddam’s Iraq, it’s easy to pick off targets with cruise missiles and stealth bombers. The key lesson though is that those strikes didn’t stop Iraq from being a problem in the Gulf.

Would there be a revolution and regime change because of the strikes? Doubt it. Will the US invade Iran? No way. Will the strikes cause the Iranian leadership to repent from being enemies of America? Nope. Ultimately, it would be a black eye, a bloody nose, a broken lip, and that’s all.

More interesting and provocative would be the targeting of Iranian leadership. It’s hard to make a case for strategic targeting alone. The problem is the leadership of Iran. Nuclear facilities don’t build themselves. Taking the war to Ahmadinejad would send the clearest signal that the US will not play games with rogue terrorist sponsor nations. Anything less than that, is a waste of time.

The United States gave Iran an ultimatum regarding it’s nuclear program. Deadlines were issued and threats made. Iran laughed and did nothing. With the political version of the finger being given toward Washington, Bush now has to scramble to muster support for “sanctions”. Get real.

Tossing another political finger at Bush:

Chirac surprised US officials on Monday by stating that he opposed the use of sanctions and suggested negotiations could be opened with Iran even before its suspended its enrichment program — a stance openly at odds with Washington’s view. link

If any US official is surprised, they should be fired. Chirac is quoted as saying: “Dialogue must prevail”. This is comedy gold. So, um, Mr. Chirac? I have a question. Would you please tell me what happened last time you tried dialogue on the nuclear issue? What an idiot. They’ve been talking to Iran since 2003!

The reality for the Bush administration is that their talk is cheap. The United States cannot get a consensus with Russia, China, and the Euro girls. The deadline bluff meant nothing and the Iranians knew it. With no political will behind Bush, he can’t muster public opinion to support military operations.

Definitely not looking good for Bush on International politics.

Moving up the list rapidly, Hezbollah has ascended the charts to being a top contender for “nextonthelist”. Backed by Iran and Syria, these terrorist Muslims attacked Israel on her North border and kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Israel has started a massive bombing campaign which pushed Lebanon back at least 20 years.

As many have pointed out in the news media, Iran is the major supplier of weapons and funds to Hezbollah. Israel and the United States face a difficult decision. Unless Iran is neutralized, even if they kill a majority of the Hezbollah figthers, Iran will just fund more recruits and continue the proxy war. As long as there are money and weapons, there will always be militants to  recruit.

Iran and Syria must be taken out. If the US must act unilaterally, so be it. You don’t uproot a tree by trimming branches. When rockets fall in Israeli cities that come from Iran, the time has come for war. Just because Iran has Hezbollah do it, does not make Iran less culpable!

One can only hope that the world will finally wake up and decide that Muslim terrorism (and sponsors) must be destroyed. The head of this snake must be crushed.

USA Today reports:

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld branded Iran as the world’s leading terrorist nation yet hoped Tehran seriously would consider incentives from the West in exchange for suspending suspect nuclear activities.

Perhaps my memory is mistaken, but isn’t it the standing policy that United States will go after all nations that harbor or support terrorism? Are we not fighting the “global war on terrorism”? How is offering incentives to the #1 supporter of terrorism consistent with fighting a war? Maybe the word “war” no longer means war.

Should we laugh or cry? The EU can’t even get the “bold” new offer out the door before Iran rejects it with derision. Ahmadinejad said today (here):

“They say they want to offer us incentives,” Ahmadinejad said. “We tell them: Keep the incentives as a gift for yourself. We have no hope of anything good from you.”

Separately, a Foreign Ministry spokesman playfully suggested that Iran was in a better position to make offers than the Europeans. “We are prepared to offer economic incentives to Europe in return for recognizing our right” to peaceful nuclear power, said spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, according to state radio. “Iran’s 70 million population market is a good incentive for Europe.”

How many times does Iran have to say “no” before the EU and the rest of the world gets it? It appears we are dealing with people that are willing to believe anything but what Iran actually says. Exactly how much clearer does Iran need to make it before the EU will stop the “bold” new proposals and get on with sanctions and military action?

Isn’t it great to see the EU grovel at the feet of an Islamic Hitler? They spent two years trying to offer a “deal” to Iran, only to have it completely rejected. They won’t agree to sanctions and instead want to offer more concessions?!

EU pledges ‘bold’ nuclear offer for Iran

Are these people lunatics? Ahmadinejad has only said a thousand times that he will not give up the right to process uranium. Proving that the EU is living in a alternate universe, they retreat and prepare to offer security agreements and possibly a light-water reactor.

Every day that diplomacy grinds on, is a day closer Iran comes to getting their bomb.

How can history repeat itself not twelve years later? Anyone remember this with North Korea?

On October 21, 1994, the United States and North Korea signed an agreement-the Agreed Framework-calling upon Pyongyang to freeze operation and construction of nuclear reactors suspected of being part of a covert nuclear weapons program in exchange for two proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors. The agreement also called upon the United States to supply North Korea with fuel oil pending construction of the reactors. An international consortium called the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was formed to implement the agreement.

Some day these nations are going to have to grow a spine and shake off their effeminate liberalism/socialism. Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later. The consequences of their inaction might be the destruction of a civilization.

Ok, ask yourself a simple question: Why would Iran want a missile capable of traveling 5,000 KM? What possible use could that be? Iran already has missiles that can cover 1,500 KM (easily covering any regional threat).

An ex-Israeli army chief said today (here):

“Iran already has surface-to-surface missiles capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads with a 1,500 (930 miles) kilometer range but it will in the future have missiles with a range of 5,000 kilometers, which will threaten the whole of Europe,” Aharon Zeevi told a conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.

Iranian President Mahmoud “Ahmadinejad is promising the end of history in two or three years’ time and I suggest that we believe him,”

So while the EU presents another “incentive” package to the Iranian Hitler, Iran is acquiring the means to present a nuke to the EU. How is it that the EU can be so blind to the threat building?

Say what they want to minimize the obvious, it is reported today (here) that the UN found traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment in Iran.

One of the diplomats told The Associated Press that the samples came from equipment that can be used in uranium-enriching centrifuges at a former research center at Lavizan-Shian. The center is believed to have been the repository of equipment bought by the Iranian military that could be used in a nuclear weapons program.

The United States alleges Iran had conducted high-explosive tests that could have a bearing on developing nuclear weapons at the site.

The State Department said in 2004 that Lavizan’s buildings had been dismantled and topsoil had been removed in attempts to hide nuclear weapons-related experiments. The agency subsequently confirmed that the site had been razed.

Isn’t that just lovely? Highly enriched uranium on equipment bought by the Iranian military. And yeah, everyone goes around removing topsoil when they have nothing to hide.

But let’s not rush to judgment right? Let’s take our time, be cautious, make sure. The United States, Israel, and the Western world need to take out this threat while they still can. Iran is just following the North Korean playbook of building reactors for civilian power when in reality they are researching nuclear weapons.

The United States made one mistake with North Korea, will they make a bigger mistake with a religious zealot on a mission from Allah to rid the world of Israel and the United States? Will Liberalism so infect our Nation’s leaders that they will be rendered impotent?

Stay tuned. This game is only in the first quarter.

Talk about hypocrisy, the Iranian Hitler ™ recently lectured George Bush about his Christianity but again today made war cries against Israel calling it “a tyrannical regime that one day will be destroyed.” Can anyone really believe these guys in Iran don’t want a nuke?

Parading through a third world country today, Ahmadinejad was greeted like a hero when he gave a speech to some university students (see here).

My favorite quote:

I loved him, he was very charismatic,” said a first-year economics student who identified herself as Deslina. “If it comes to that, they should go to war. If I could, I would fight the United States.

Those of us who understand what we are facing in the world have to stand up and be heard.

Timed perfectly to impact the UN vote, Iranian President Ahmadinejad wrote an 18 page letter to President Bush (read here). A key point, that Liberals in America will easily dismiss, is that this was primarily a religious letter.

Another disturbing aspect to the letter is that Ahmadinejad writes like he’s reading from Ted Kennedy’s talking points. You can almost hear Kennedy, Feinstein, and the rest of the America-haters dictating such gems as:

Hundreds of billions of dollars spent from the treasury of one country and certain other countries and tens of thousands of young men and women — as occupation troops — put in harms way, taken away from family and loved ones, their hands stained with the blood of others, subjected to so much psychological pressure that everyday some commit suicide and those returning home suffer depression, become sickly and grapple with all sorts of ailments; while some are killed and their bodies handed to their families.

Sounds like Cindy Sheehan as well?

There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay that have not been tried, have no legal representation, their families cannot see them and are obviously kept in a strange land outside their own country. There is no international monitoring of their conditions and fate. No one knows whether they are prisoners, POWs, accused or criminals.

European investigators have confirmed the existence of secret prisons in Europe too. I could not correlate the abduction of a person, and him or her being kept in secret prisons, with the provisions of any judicial system. For that matter, I fail to understand how such actions correspond to the values outlined in the beginning of this letter, i.e. the teachings of Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him), human rights and liberal values.

I guess he does watch CSPAN and CNN.

Lies were told in the Iraqi matter. What was the result? I have no doubt that telling lies is reprehensible in any culture, and you do not like to be lied to

Isn’t it great to see sworn enemies of Israel and the West parrot the very words of U.S. Senators and Congressmen? Makes me sick.