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“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ~Albert Einstein
Hot off the presses in the Media War between the dueling DM’s, here’s Ehud Barak’s latest salvo at Panetta…
Israel calls for attack on Iran ‘before it is too late’
…Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak issued a stark warning last night that military action may be needed to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons before it is “too late” and Tehran puts its programme beyond the reach of external attack.
Mr Barak insisted that despite “disagreements among us”, the world had no doubt that Iran’s nuclear programme was “slowly but surely” reaching the final stages before it would be “able to complete such a programme without any effective intervention”.
He declared to the annual gathering in Herzliya of the country’s security establishment: “Many experts in the world believe that refraining from action will necessarily mean dealing with a nuclearised Iran.” This “will be far more complex, far more dangerous and far more costly in blood and money than stopping it today… Those who say ‘later’ may find that later is too late.”
Mr Barak said the latest tightening of sanctions against Iran was a “step in the right direction” and “must be intensified until the goal is attained to stop the programme”. But he then declared: “If the sanctions do not achieve the desired effect of stopping the military nuclearisation programme, action must also be considered.”
The Defence Minister’s remarks came as US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta declined to deny a report in the Washington Post that he feared a military strike on Iran by Israel during April, May or June. Mr Panetta said the US had indicated its “concerns” about a possible Israeli attack…
Yeah, about those ‘concerns’…
Panetta won’t dispute report Israel may attack Iran
…Panetta was asked by reporters to comment on a Washington Post opinion column by David Ignatius that said Panetta believes there is a “strong likelihood” that Israel will attack in April, May or June. Ignatius did not say who told him this.
Asked whether he disputes the report, Panetta said, “No, I’m just not commenting.”
He added, “What I think and what I view, I consider that to be an area that belongs to me and nobody else.”
He noted that Israel has stated publicly that it is considering military action against Iran. He said the U.S. has “indicated our concerns.”
FDL alum, Emptywheel had penned another great post… Your Summer Schedule: Vacation, Beach, Iran War…
Now, the Jpost offers up some more of the ‘highlights’ from that Herzliya Confab…
…Ya’alon says Tehran is developing missiles capable of reaching the United States; IDF intel chief Kochavi says Iran has enough uranium to build four nuclear bombs…
…In his speech, Ya’alon revealed that Iran had been developing a missile with a range of 10,000 km. that would have been capable of reaching the United States. He said that the missile was destroyed, though, in the mysterious explosion that rocked a missile base near Tehran on November 12, killing 17 Iranian troops, including the father of Iran’s missile program.
According to Ya’alon, the missile was based on a solid fuel propellant and would have significantly increased the Islamic Republic’s offensive capabilities.
Ya’alon also said that Turkey is helping Iran bypass the sanctions that have been imposed on it in recent months.
According to the vice premier, who was in the United States last week for talks on Iran with senior officials from the Obama administration, Turkey was helping Iran circumvent the sanctions by allowing it to use its banking system.
Ya’alon said that the Israeli government was committed to stopping Iran’s nuclear program “in one way or another.”
“We need a credible military option. The Iranians understand the West has capabilities, but as long as the Iranians don’t think that the West has the political stomach and determination to use it they will not stop,” Ya’alon said. “Currently they don’t think that the world is determined.”
Btw, the resident, AIPAC stoolie at the Grey Lady, Ethan Bronner, just had to breathlessly report on Ya’alon’s utter bullsh*t… U.S. Plays Down Warning By Israeli Over Iran’s Missiles…
The ever intrepid, Gareth Porter, had reported this bit of much needed, great news…
Dempsey Told Israelis U.S. Won’t Join Their War on Iran
…Dempsey’s warning, conveyed to both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, represents the strongest move yet by President Barack Obama to deter an Israeli attack and ensure that the United States is not caught up in a regional conflagration with Iran.
But the Israeli government remains defiant about maintaining its freedom of action to make war on Iran, and it is counting on the influence of right-wing extremist views in U.S. politics to bring pressure to bear on Obama to fall into line with a possible Israeli attack during the election campaign this fall.
Obama still appears reluctant to break publicly and explicitly with Israel over its threat of military aggression against Iran, even in the absence of evidence Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon.
Dempsey’s trip was highly unusual, in that there was neither a press conference by the chairman nor any public statement by either side about the substance of his meetings with Israeli leaders. Even more remarkable, no leak about what he said to the Israelis has appeared in either U.S. or Israeli news media, indicating that both sides have regarded what Dempsey said as extremely sensitive.
The substance of Dempsey’s warning to the Israelis has become known, however, to active and retired senior flag officers with connections to the JCS, according to a military source who got it from those officers.
A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commander Patrick McNally, offered ‘no comment’ Wednesday when IPS asked him about the above account of Dempsey’s warning to the Israelis…
Heed our Elders…
Mr. President – Tell Bibi No! – Publicly
- Panetta thinks the Israelis are likely to act against Iran soon.
- The US IC still believes that the Iranians no longer have a nuclear weapons program.
- The Israel first crowd are not going to support BHO for president again.
- They prefer Romney or gingrich or anyone else except Paul..
- The Evangelicals are not going to support BHO.
- The cretin element in the population is not going to support BHO. I have talked to numerous Gentile retirees in their ghettoized communities in the warmer regions. Many of them slaver for Iranian blood, fed in their dotage a steady diet of propaganda by Rush and faux news. They are not going to support BHO either.
- The majority of Americans do not want another war, especially one patently boosted for and on behalf of a foreign country mired in its own delusions. Republican support of war against Iran will cost them the election.
-BHO, Panetta and the CJCS have all told the Israeli government that we will not join in a pre-emption against them nor “bail them out” in a pre-emption against Iran.
Soooo
Tell the world that:
If the USIC decides that Iran has a nuclear weapons program that is proceeding with weaponization, we will destroy it. We will not welcome Israel’s “help” in this. This should generally be our policy. The present nuclear powers are to some extent “grandfathered,” but only from necessity.
An Israeli first strike on Iran has nothing to do with us and WILL have nothing to do with us.
pl
‘No Comment’ just won’t cut it, folks…!
*gah*
46 Comments
Whoa! Nice summary of the latest lunacy about Iran. Thanks, CTuttle.
I’m wondering if Obama secretly supports an Israeli bombing of Iran but is pretending to oppose it because he knows many of his voters don’t support it. Even if Obama says he won’t support an Israeli attack on Iran, we all know that US forces WILL indeed support Israel, even if reluctantly. Obama cannot get elected without support from Israel Firsters, who have tons of advertising dollars and Hollywood on their side. So, I’m skeptical that Obama is actively opposing an attack on Iran.
I honestly think the administration would be facing open revolt if the US attacked Iran and I know damned well they would if nuclear weapons were involved.
*heh* I think Haaretz had hit the nail on the head, jimbowski…!
Israel’s greatest intelligence challenge is Netanyahu
As the U.S. warns Israel against striking Iran, no one knows precisely what the prime minister is thinking.
Is he even capable of thinking…?
If Israel attacks Iran, Obama loses the election in November. No doubt. And given Bibi’s enmity toward Obama, it is becoming a more likely outcome.
Israel now controls the next presidential election. It is Israel’s actions toward Iran that will decide if Obama gets his second term.
None of the Brass(here and there) what any part of it, whatsoever, Peg…! But, it all seems to be in the hands of the Chickenhawk Politicos…! 8-(
The economic effects of an attack by Israel on Iran will have such economic consequences that it is highly doubtful that the US would support such an action. It would doom the Obama presidency and the second term. Hence, such an attack is not seriously supported by Obama.
Aloha, Shergald, I agree that it’s ‘not seriously supported by Obama’, but, he’s already hamstrung by all the AIPAC machinations within Congress, Foggy Bottom, the Pentagon, the MSM, and, all those ‘thinktanks’…! 8-(
The PTB would like nothing more than all to forget all the hundreds of trillions of monopoly money floating about the world. What ever scenario you come up with to make a diversion is just marv with them.
“Panetta believes there is a “strong likelihood” that Israel will attack in April, May or June. Ignatius did not say who told him – this”
A planted story if there ever was one
but so obviously a plant I doubt we have entered the “planning stage” for attack in 90 days based on this “likelyhood”.
Bibi may well attack- indeed is likely to attack if the inspections do not go well – and I doubt the inspectors will get real access from Iran.
But I doubt any are that out in front of events and are actually planning an attack – albeit the three at a time bunker busters seemed to have been shipped to Israel under the radar – amid warnings that Iran is adding dirt to the top of the facilities at a rate that means in the fall the only way to take then out will be atomic rather than the bunker busters. Plus Iran’s international terror arm – Hez – seems under orders to get active – Iran is not pulling back from the confrontation. And enrichment that need only be at 5% for peaceful purposes and at 15% for “research” is continuing at 20% plus which only makes sense in a weapons program.
While the gov of Iran does not seem to have control of the Revolutionary Guards, no gov, Israeli, Saudi, Iran, or US, wants this.
But at this point I do not see how it can be stopped – but I still doubt that anyone is to the US “likelyhood” planning beyond the standard always have a plan stage since most are more cautious than I. Hence I suspect the story is from down the ladder – and not yet the official program that we are on a “go” for. So I suspect Hillary is indeed pushing hard for no attack – and has Obama backing her – making a Bibi decision for an attack much more difficult – albeit not impossible.
But if Bibi attacks the US will back him – and he knows that. A bit like watching someone standing on a wire wondering which way they will fall. Iran with bomb shipping it out for terror via Hez, or economic chaos from an Iran war, or Iran backs down – the first two choices suck.
No doubt, homeroid…! And, with the added bonus that Bibi is desperate to avert the world’s attention away from the failed I/P ‘peace process’…! 8-(
*aargh* Papau, once again you’re defending the indefensible…! 8-(
19.5% enrichment is completely legal under the IAEA, and, is needed for civilian use, not the 5% you erroneously state…!
I also would add that 20% is completely useless for weaponization…! You need 95%+ refinement to build even a crude weapon like Hiroshima’s and Nagasaki’s, which, I should also point out, that all modern Nukes are made of Plutonium, not even HEU…! If Iran started a plutonium processing plant, then I’d start to be concerned…!
Here’s an mp3 link of Gareth Porter and Antiwar’s Scott Horton…!
Speaking of Antiwar, John Glaser offers up this linkapaloosa… Israel Ramps Up Push for Attack on Iran…
Many modern nukes are made from HEU or from an HEU/Pu mix. The same designs that work for Pu will also work for HEU, allowing for HEU’s larger critical mass. And you can build a bomb with 90%, it’s been done. The lower limit on enrichment is probably around 80%, but that bomb would be MUCH larger physically for the same yield.
Besides the repro plant, be concerned if you see Iran going to more than 70% or if they build a cascade large enough to move their 20% enriched to weapons grade rapidly. They have done none of these things and we’d detect all except the expanded cascade.
IMO Iran has already done all the prep work and given the weapons grade material could assemble a nagasaki type bomb fairly quickly. But they aren’t working on obtaining weapons grade material.
If you see them refueling reactors before they need to be refueled, that would also be a concern. But they aren’t doing that, they’re still working on their first fueling.
Boxturtle (Still thinks “you leave us alone, we leave you alone” is the basis for a deal)
Going above 19% is weapon time – get your facts straight.
Research reactors do not go there – drop by a few sites and discuss with the folks there before you contradict what is obvious.
Modern nuke design is not the point – it is terror – and a U238 nuke equals terror.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enriched_uranium:
Low-enriched uranium (LEU) has a lower than 20% concentration of 235U. For use in commercial light water reactors (LWR), the most prevalent power reactors in the world, uranium is enriched to 3 to 5% 235U. Fresh LEU used in research reactors is usually enriched 12% to 19.75% U-235, the latter concentration being used to replace HEU fuels when converting to LEU. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) has a greater than 20% concentration of 235U or 233U. The fissile uranium in nuclear weapons usually contains 85% or more of 235U known as weapon(s)-grade, though for a crude, inefficient weapon 20% is sufficient (called weapon(s)-usable)
the expanded cascade that we can’t detect does seem to be a problem doesn’t it.
dirty nuke is terror – yet is just a normal explosives and some nuke material that scares folks more than it hurts them.
As to refuel pattern and making a “modern design” – The critical mass for 85% highly enriched uranium is about 50 kilograms (110 lb), which at normal density would be a sphere about 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in diameter (granted the container would be over a thousand pounds). Plutonium-239,239Pu, is certainly a goal if you need a bigger bang for the size, but we are talking terror and a country that has a terror arm called Hez with a 30 year record of terror in the EU and elsewhere – giving Hez a nuke, even just a dirty bomb – is not going to be allowed to happen.
Juan Cole just posted a good analysis of the situation: the US is just not buying into supporting an attack on Iran by Israel or attacking Iran ourselves, during a presidential campaign or ever, in the near future. Netanyahu is a liar, especially about the alleged threat Iran poses to Israel.
The Generals try to stop an Iran War
“It has leaked that US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. Martin Dempsey warned the Israelis that if they launched a strike on Iran that spiralled into a war, they would be on their own.”
http://www.juancole.com/2012/02/the-generals-try-to-stop-an-iran-war.html
Thanks, Tuttle; rec’d.
Also thanks for ditching all the pale blue fonts in the software’s quote thingie. Much easier to read this way. Looks as though quite a number of are making our own adaptations when we post. ;o)
Thank you, CTut.
The “takeaway” as it applies to the US.
70 percent of the American public now “believe” that Iran ALREADY has a “nuclear weapon”.
AND Barack Obama does NOT have the balls to tell the American public the truth, thereby undercutting Israeli aggressiveness (or insanity) and the lies consistently and intentionally told by the American media who are part of the American political class, which class has a huge investment, literally, in the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (to give it the name Eisenhower actually first used, before he was persuaded to remove the “Congressional” component).
Thus, again, Obama’s clearly and consistently demonstrated cowardice will allow a continuing and appallingly dangerous drift toward ignorant mayhem … until the Israeli government is “prepared” to launch the pre-emptive attack and risk WWIII.
And, in this election year, Mitt Romney WILL, very loudly, sound the trumpets and beat the drums for war with Iran.
DW
There are two rogue states in the part of the world where I live one is Israel the other is America. There is no difference whatsoever between America and Israel. None. None whatsoever, both are cynically vicious racist settler states founded on theft of land and slaughter of the indigenous populations. Both are racist to their core and both are in thrall to the wicked European ideology called Zionism. Both wage wars of aggression not just on Arabs but on Muslims in general.
You Americans can tell yourselves as many lies as you like about how you are different from and not responsible for what your disgustingly vicious and racist little outpost called Israel does. But throughout the Dar al-Islam those lies are recognised for what they are – lies. Lies moreover by states with a record of attacking Muslims.
If you Americans via your Israeli partners attack another Muslim state the consequences for your country will be very very painful.
Mohammed Ibn Laith
I just don’t believe the leaked story about Dempsey any more than I believed that Obama was fighting for the public option. We are being played.
If Israel attacks, we will back them. There is no political courage in the Dem party and they will wither when the neocons start attacking with “Obama won’t support our allies.” The MSM will continue with this meme and even if Obama doesn’t support war with Iran, which I still don’t buy, he will be forced to engage.
That’s exactly right, jimbowski. In fact, we will have no choice whatsoever but to get dragged into any war with Iran that Israel starts because Iran’s retaliation will not only be directed at Israel, but also at closing the Strait of Hormuz, and attacking US assets in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as US naval assets surrounding Iran.
Surprisingly, CTuttle seems to have overlooked the most important disclaimer in Gareth Porter’s article. The first paragraph reads thusly:
“Washington – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the United States would not participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from well-placed senior military officers.”
The key words here are “without prior agreement from Washington,” meaning that Obama is not explicitly saying “oh no you don’t” but rather he is telling Israel that “yes you can” as long as they seek and receive approval for an attack from the Obama administration.
Many of us over here see the same things you do and are appalled at what our government is doing. We are in solidarity with your efforts to beat back these warmongers and return to a life of peace and cooperation.
Many Americans do not agree with the hateful nature of the right wing American politicians and we continue to try to limit their power but unfortunately, our side is weak and pathetic and will not fight for our ideals so we are not having any success. I hope you can see that we are on the same side–fighting a hopeless battle to promote peace over violence.
Personally, I think Israel is at fault for this escalation and if they do strike Iran, I hope they suffer severe consequences for their aggression. It is not hard to cooperate and live peacefully with each other. Iran is no threat to Israel. Israel is choosing war over peace as they have done for decades. The U.S. has prevented any meaningful accountability for Israel’s aggression towards the Muslim community and for that, we should be held accountable. If America truly stood for peace, our president would state loudly and clearly that we will not defend Israel if they attack Iran. The fact we are not saying that means that we are complicit in any violence that takes place.
(if this poster is from Homeland Security attempting to expose terrorist sympathizers, I in no way support terrorism, do not consider this post to be material support for the enemy, do not support violence against America or any other country and please don’t send a drone to assassinate me. Thanks! )
Thank you for sharing the truth with us, Mohammed Ibn Laith.
Quite frankly, the vast majority of Americans, wrapped up snuggly in their juvenile or even abecedarian “belief” in “American Exceptionaism” do not understand that THIS war, the one that the American media and the too much of the rest of political class want and seek … will involve considerably more than “pain” at the gas-pump.
This failure to understand is the result of a profound moral failure, and it, apparently, has but one “cure”.
Americans will, generally, NOT understand the abject horror of war until it is brought home to them.
DW
Mohammed Ibn Laith is not from Homeland security, figaro, he is a well-respected contributor to this community and lives in Irak.
DW
X2!!!
‘Americans will, generally, NOT understand the abject horror of war until it is brought home to them.’
That is a hard sentence to look away from, my friend.
Mohammed Ibn Laith is a highly intelligent, principled, patriotic, and courageous man who saw the vast majority of his family slaughtered by your troops. That includes his 9 year old brother Ali shot to death in his arms by an American sniper. Following which he joined the Iraki resistance where he and the group of fighters he commanded became known for the ferocity, persistence, and above all success of their attacks against the invader troops.
The fact that he personally led most of those attacks and personally inflicted more than a few invader casualties gives him unassailable credentials with other resistance groups as he engages with them persuading them to lay down their arms and pursue their goals by political means.
As well as being a successful resistance leader he is also a scholar of considerable ability and I have no doubt that he will attain the ranl of Ayatollah at an even earlier age than his father did.
It takes a considerable amount of ½-assed self-absorbtion to write something as ridiculously offensive as your last paragraph to somebody like him.
My guess, wendy, is, were most Americans to encounter such a sentence, that they would hold up their fingers, in the sign of the cross, and intone, “It can’t happen here, it can’t happen here …”
DW
Thank you, mark, I was hoping that you might drop by … with a word or two.
DW
The above is in response to figaro February 3rd, 2012 at 9:38 am
mfi
Wow! My comment was completely respectful and in solidarity with the poster and yet I’m being flamed? WTF!
I’m sorry I don’t know every poster here and their background. I’m sorry my concern for my safety is bothersome to you. No … wait … I’m not sorry. Go F yourself!
figaro, markfromireland is an esteemed contributor, here, at FDL, and your “reaction”, although perhaps understandable fails to realize that both mark and Mohammed are in Irak and have witnessed what has transpired, if you can read what mark said and not understand, on their level, then perhaps you ought to be more circumspect in YOUR annoyance?
What do you think? I ask this that you might seek some perspective, else you appear to those who know these men to be unduly and irrationally sensitive AND insensitive.
Take a deep breath, and let it go, please.
DW
I’d forgotten his name, too, figaro. In fact, I forget many screen names; they blend together in my mind. Your very heartfelt comment was a very compassionate one; it’s hard to express to a recipient of our evil foreign war policy the depth of pain and humiliation at what’s done to people all over the world in our names. As for your final paragraph, it reminded me a little bit of this message george washington now posts on his blogsite:
“National Security Notice
We are NOT calling for the overthrow of the government. In fact, we are calling for the reinstatement of our government.
We are not calling for lawlessness. We are calling for an end to lawlessness and lack of accountability and a return to the rule of law.
Rather than trying to subvert the constitution, we are calling for its enforcement.
We are patriotic Americans born and raised in this country. We love the U.S. We don’t seek to destroy or attack America … we seek to restore her to strength, prosperity, liberty and respect.
We don’t support or like Al Qaeda, the Taliban or any supporting groups. We think they are all disgusting.
The nation’s top legal scholars say that draconian security laws which violate the Constitution should not apply to Americans.
Should you attempt to shut down this site or harass its authors, you are anti-liberty, anti-justice, anti-American … and undermining America’s national security.
His top story today covers recent polls indicating how few want war with Iran, and how *many* want the ME, including Israel, to be a nuclear-free zone.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/02/less-than-one-fifth-of-all-americans-favor-military-or-covert-action-against-iran-less-than-half-of-israelis-want-to-attack-iran-and-65-want-the-entire-middle-east-including-israel-to-be-a-n.html
I would hope that Mark’s snap at you was due to the fraught nerves this subject engenders. We should not fight one other so easily, IMO.
Superb, compassionate, and most-thoughtful comment, wendy, I hope that figaro might return to read it.
As well, thank you for that link to george washington.
I know of no one, including my friends who consider themselves to be on the “right” who favor this war …
even though some do “believe” that Iran already possesses nuclear weapons.
DW
It’s another delusion we’ve been led to believe, DW; ‘The sole superpower of the world’ has gone to our heads and has bred insanity. Diplomacy now means dealing weapons of wars; the ‘carrots’ are IMF loans, or are designed to feather the war-mongers’ and multinational corporations’ (like the evil Monsanto) pockets. And ‘don’t mess with us’ is the word we live by, and too many Americans find freaking *comforting*. The poll GW cites is encouraging.
as to: DWBartoo February 3rd, 2012 at 2:01 pm:
I remember Mark and Rusty1176 go at it over a matter of what I saw as semantics during the early days at Tahrir Square. Two very passionate men with well-developed ego identities, nuking each others’ whales over what amounted to reading each other incorrectly. Again: high tension; and yet both were strong supporters of the revolution there. It saddened me greatly. The issue as I remember it concerned the definition of ‘violence’, which subject I’m trying to write up now…
By the by, my diary of yesterday might interest you; some sorta new science meeting…spiritual beliefs. ;o)
I was so involved in it that I neglected to discover why there were so many comments on Leo Gerard’s recent thread. Damn; you were on fire! Kinda fun to take those guys out for a ride, isn’t it? Wished I’d seen it earlier. ;o)
Stay strong, dear.
For all of us in solidarity; it always brings tears:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgw_zfLLvh8
As it happens, wendy, I saw your most excellent and brilliantly illuminating diary, late last night as I was fading fast … although I pushed the “recommend” button, I hadn’t the energy to comment in a way that would do suitable justice to the deep poetry and quantum energies of the diary and the comments it so powerfully inspired.
Oddly enough, very similar thoughts, though much more mundane in their presentation, may well pop up in my next wee diary.
It amazes me (not really) that you and I are often speaking about the very same things and, very often, using virtually the same words.
As always, much appreciation and profound respect to you, wendy, lass, and a belated birthday greeting to your sa …
DW
Mahalo, Mohammed Ibn Laith and Gor…! It’s been far too long since I’ve last seen you both here at the Lake…! *g*
I have a lot questions for both of ya, like Maliki’s power grab, and then about the Syrian fiasco… What is the status of all those Iraki refugees that fled to Syria, during our misbegotten invasion…? Gor, send me an email, you do have my addy, please…!
Mohanned Ibn Laith and Mark, it’s good to see you here and to hear the truth. I just don’t see that Iran is a danger to Israel or to us. The gov’t in Israel seems to have lost their collective minds. Thanks you for being here to tell us what is really going on. My best wishes and peace to both of you.
@DWBartoo February 3rd, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Nice to think our spirits are like-minded; in Japanese maybe ‘kunzoku’; dunno the spelling. It happens now and again, and I am glad for the comfort of it. So sweet of you to say, though your prose is so much more mellifluous than my plain-speak. I be a Western Hippie, and you be a scholar and philosopher; fun that we can speak to the same spirit in different, but parallel languages. Warriors come in all shapes and colors, methinks. ;o)
I’ll be looking forward to thy diary, and return the respect with much love. And the Mistah will love hearing your b-day greetings. I made him that wonderful cake today. ;o)
wd
*heh* I bemoan the fact that my meager chicken scratch is no where near on a par with both of ya’lls eloquence…! ;-)
I’m a researcher/analyst, not a writer…! *g*
Given Obama’s awful economic policy preferences, I seriously doubt that will enter into his mind… after the election. I agree he wouldn’t want to do this before then, for all the reasons you lay out and more.
Remember, the oil industry will see skyrocketing profits just on the price rise in the event of war. So will the arms industry. There’s a lot of fundraising he can do based on that alone. It’s not like Obama doesn’t understand the value of what Cheney did in the run-up to invading Iraq. The oil industry supported it just for the price increases alone.
Now, congress is nearly unanimous in its collective War Fever. So are certain industries. Ditto for the entire Israel Lobby. Even recent polling suggests a certain openness on the part of the American polity towards attacking Iran, but most clearly don’t understand the circumstances under which it would occur, much less the fact that if Israel opens on its own, it will have to use nukes… since it doesn’t possess the conventional capability on its own.
Besides all that, the folks in DC live in a media bubble which has eviscerated any notion of public feedback on any number of proposed policies.* If they think it’s “popular,” and that’s easy enough to engineer under such circumstances (as in, most in DC want to believe that), then the insanity will commence when they’re damn good and ready.
*–They also think raising the retirement age is “popular,” along with slashing SS benefits. So go figure….
Aw, hay-ull, Tuttle. ;o)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7sR8GLVNHA
Wendy, Thanks for your insightful comments to bring a level of understanding and perspective to this conversation. The male ego is both very powerful and very fragile. Unchecked usually leads all of us down a very destructive path.
Mohammed Ibn Laith and Mark, I appreciate your presence for bringing the often hidden (from the American public) truth of the devastation wrought by arrogant US policies and Empire building. If it’s OK, I would ask only one thing, please don’t paint all Americans with the broad brush of racism. For surely, only greed and racism can explain the cavalier military aggression that causes so much misery. Some of us desperately want the truth and do whatever we can however ineffectively, to intervene. Mohammed, to the extent that I have been complicit in your suffering… I am truly sorry.
It takes less than two seconds to click on the link to a user name. You were too lazy to make even that minimal effort.
Your laziness and your deeply insulting reply received the contempt it deserved from a person who – unlike you, puts into practical effect the struggle against the evil wrought by the warmongering states of America and Israel . That you immediately resorted to obscenity is not only contemptible in and of itself but confirms that the contempt for your insulting and profoundly offensive reply to me was well deserved .
Spare me please the self serving and wholly false nonsense about “most Americans” and how we are “on the same side” – no we are not. As I and millions of people the world over Muslim and non-Muslim alike can testify from direct personal experience the government and people of the United States of America are my enemies, the enemies of my people, and the enemies of peace and freedom everywhere.
Spare me also that double pack of lies about a:
What Americans mean by that phrase and others like it is a return to a situation in which we brown people do what Americans tell them to do and in return get thrown the occasional half gnawed bon-e and a pat on our obedient little dark haired heads.
And
I am one of the fighters who drove your American soldiers out of our land. We did it by using the only thing that works against barbarians we used violence. We used it against your American soldiers, your American soldiers who as a tactic deliberately target civilians. As a tactic your American soldiers commit one revolting and appalling war crime after another. We drove your barbarian scum in uniform from our land by fighting them by engaging them constantly in unremitting violence and horror. The campaign to drive these vermin from our land was successful because we never gave them one moment in which they could relax. Never one day in which they did not know fear. Our goal was to subject them to the same never ending fear and horror that they inflicted upon our civilians. The tactic – which succeeded beyond our hopes was to reduce their ability to fight effectively by violently shattering their minds and, when we could, their bodies.
THAT is how you resist war mongers by making it too horrific and to expensive for them to make war. Had we chosen “peace over violence” to use your phrase. You Americans would still be occupying my country and depriving my children, my people, and myself, of their freedom from foreign rule.
Your comment was insulting, lazy, and false. It is a falsehood to say that it was in solidarity either with me or with anyone Iraki and non-Iraki alike who has suffered from the barbarian American tyranny.
Mohammed Ibn Laith
Balderdash and sufferin’ dog hairs!!!
CTut you speak the truth unvarnished, and successfully summon better angels to con-sider-ation … the “putting” of stars, together.
There is no more profound and loving eloquence nor truer power … than that.
DW
Mohammed Ibn Laith, I would’ve done the very same in your shoes…! As it is, I’m trying my damnest to change the corrupt ways, albeit in Ghandhian fashion, I will not cease in my pursuit of stopping the sheer madness that is unfolding…! 8-(