Hey Sec, whats the plan for Iran?

[sq764]

With the news that Iran is hellbent on creating nukes AND they are creating the missiles to deliver them, what do WE do?

More sanctions? War? What?

[hcap]

Let me guess what the neocons wanna do.....

[boxcar]

Since Jimmy Carter, seemingly, has never met a dictator, terrorist or rogue regime that he didn't like, maybe he'll volunteer his services to State Dept. I have no doubt the Great Appeaser would "win the peace". :rolleyes:

Boxcar

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by sq764
With the news that Iran is hellbent on creating nukes AND they are creating the missiles to deliver them, what do WE do?

More sanctions? War? What?

Jeez, seems we've heard this WMD story before with Iraq. I'd say let's get some actual verified inteligence information before we go off the deep end again. That might be hard too do though because it seems the CIA is being totally revamped during Goss's appointment, and we're concurrently fighting a couple of other wars while the Sudan's going to pot

So let's start by getting our intelligence correct this time. And yes, let's start with including other nations this time, and why not get our Asian allies China and Russia or Pakistan or India which are close by and more susceptible to a nuclear attack involved. After all Putin just said he had to build a more powerful nuclear weapon beause of itnernational terrorism. Let's get our information straight this time before launching an all out war. After all we don't have a Saddam Hussein to go after this time do we? Let's take a deep breath and find out. We have four nuclear power countries surrounding Iran (Russia, China, Pakistan and India - and that doesn't evn include Israel). It would seem in their interests to address this as well as us half a world away. Iran hasn't invaded us, and I don't think anyone is saying Iran is an "imminent" threat to us, so how bout we get it right this time.

One way to start is to get the above nations together into a Pan-Mid Asian Summit on Nuclear Proliferation and invite Iran. Invite them sign a treaty banning nucear weapons in the region. How bout starting there?

[PaceAdvantage]

Hmmmm, if we THOUGHT our intelligence was CORRECT last time (which we, and most of the rest of the civilized world DID think, as well as past administrations), I don't see the point of your recent post Sec.

It doesn't matter if the intelligence is correct or not after the fact. What matters is what our leaders BELIEVE to be true BEFORE the fact. Intelligence usually can not be 100% accurate all of the time.

So then, where does that leave us? Under your plan, it MIGHT leave us paralyzed by the fear of not being 100% correct!

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by hcap
Let me guess what the neocons wanna do.....

Hcap,

Iran looks a little like Texas on the map you posted.

[Equineer]

Few analysts foresee a quick Gaddafi-like solution for Iran.

Gaddafi got economic incentives plus guarantees not to interfere with succession, which many cite as his main concern.

And many analysts believe Gaddafi was an opportunist who seized the best moment to put his puny WMD threat on the market.

After striking his secretly brokered deal, the Colonel was the toast of the EU diplomatic/social circuit in the spring of 2004 when he landed in Brussels with his elite company of female bodyguards attired in striking blue uniforms.

It was a media event when he erected and elected to stay in a blue Bedouin prayer tent - similar to his own dwelling place in Tripoli - set up in front of the Val Duchesse residence for visiting heads of state.

Cynics are saying that Gaddafi and family simply opted for Saudi-like access to the pleasures of the Western World.

Here is Gaddafi's triumphant arrival in Brussels.

[Equineer]

Intelligence this time may not be the biggest issue.

Iran has avoided Saddam's notorious mistakes, withdrew from the NPT by carefully following the protocol steps within the treaty, has been diplomatically pro-active rather than belligerent, is ready to accept an interim agreement with the IAEC, and will be hard to "sell" as a rogue threat like North Korea.

[kenwoodallpromos]

Sec's plan sounds good to me- he did not say for the USA to get rid of their nukes.
(Russia, China, Pakistan and India - and that doesn't even include Israel). It would seem in their interests to address this as well as us half a world away. Iran hasn't invaded us, and I don't think anyone is saying Iran is an "imminent" threat to us, so how bout we get it right this time.

One way to start is to get the above nations together into a Pan-Mid Asian Summit on Nuclear Proliferation and invite Iran. Invite them sign a treaty banning nucear weapons in the region. How bout starting there?

[Tom]

Hcap's map looks like good long range strategic planning to me.
Only mistake on the map is that Iraq is now "red!"

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by kenwoodallpromos
Iran hasn't invaded us, and I don't think anyone is saying Iran is an "imminent" threat to us, so how bout we get it right this time.

you ever heard of israel? how about Turkey and a few others? These are our allies. Not to mention the fallout from a Nuclear blast etc. Israel Has nukes..............and they are not going to let Iran have them. Guaranteed. The Israeli air force is already warming up their planes.........

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by PaceAdvantage
Hmmmm, if we THOUGHT our intelligence was CORRECT last time (which we, and most of the rest of the civilized world DID think, as well as past administrations), I don't see the point of your recent post Sec.

It doesn't matter if the intelligence is correct or not after the fact. What matters is what our leaders BELIEVE to be true BEFORE the fact. Intelligence usually can not be 100% accurate all of the time.

So then, where does that leave us? Under your plan, it MIGHT leave us paralyzed by the fear of not being 100% correct!

No Pa. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I don't think anyone is talking "imminent threat" here. Let's get it right this time, before we get a lot more young men killed.

[Equineer]

Originally posted by JustRalph
you ever heard of israel? how about Turkey and a few others? These are our allies. Not to mention the fallout from a Nuclear blast etc. Israel Has nukes..............and they are not going to let Iran have them. Guaranteed. The Israeli air force is already warming up their planes......... Can we depend on support from Turkey and the European Union?

Beginning with the 1979 American policy decision to isolate Iran in the Middle East, Iran focused on fostering relationships with China, India, and Pakistan, as well as developing important trade ties with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Germany.

Likewise, as noted by Eurasian scholar James Ferguson, "Iran has pursued a policy of cautious engagement with Turkey, with trade booming during the period of the Iraq-Iran war. Since then, there have been efforts to increase trade, and to secure deals whereby Turkey and Iran would share in profits from prospective oil and gas lines routed through their countries."

Although Turkey and Iran are constitutionally different with respect to secularism, a decade of gradual moderation insofar as Islamic clerical domination in Iran has improved the perception of Iran among the Muslim majority in Turkey, especially for several million Iranian refugees who fled to Turkey after the Shah of Iran was deposed.

While America has discouraged political and trade ties between Turkey and Iran, Turkey is poised to join the European Union which views Iran as a more progressive economic crossroads between East and West than the view expressed by U.S. policymakers.

In addition, at the street level in the Muslim World, no one has forgotten that the U.S. supported Saddam when he actually deployed WMD weaponry (gas) against Iran in a war that killed over a million Muslims.

Forming a coalition against Iran may be an order of magnitude more difficult than was the case for Iraq. An unprovoked war against Iran would almost certainly destroy our credibility as a peacemaker between Israel and the Palestinians.

[JustRalph]

Equine, speak up I can't hear you..............you are trying to discuss foreign policy with a Heathen..........will you ever learn?

[Equineer]

Originally posted by JustRalph
Equine, speak up I can't hear you..............you are trying to discuss foreign policy with a Heathen..........will you ever learn? You profess to be an informed atheist/agnostic as opposed to a simple heathen in the mold of the "noble savage" who is a heathen by virtue of innocent ignorance.

However, you flatter yourself if you believe I anticipated a well-reasoned reply from you. :)

[Tom]

Guess we better pass some sort of global test before we do something. What did Iran ever do to us?
Oh, yeah, but that was a while ago.

[sq764]

Originally posted by hcap
Let me guess what the neocons wanna do.....

I should have pre-empted my post with saying only intelligent replies.. I would have saved you some time

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by Tom
Guess we better pass some sort of global test before we do something. What did Iran ever do to us?
Oh, yeah, but that was a while ago.

Yes, that was a long time ago Tom. I remember it. It was before the US gave weapons to Osama Bin Laden in Afghansitan, and before the US gave weapons to Saddam Hussein, and looked the other way AFTER he gased his own people. Ayatollah Khomeini is dead, and we can choose to create another Iraq in Iran, Or attempt to stabilize the situation without massive loss of life.

Iraq began with maybes, and mights, and the UN reproted today that Iran is already willing to give up their uranium enrichment program. Perhaps this can be handled without a war, such as Bush is advocating in N. Korea. Let's hope so.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=721&e=1&u=/nm/20041122/wl_nm/nuclear_iran_dc

[JustRalph]

The myth of the noble savage.........one of my favs. Let's just say I don't think some of your crap is worth responding to. You start some of this stuff just to hear your own keyboard. Hell, I don't even know who I am talking to when it comes to you. When you first came on the board you seemed like a decent member of the female persuasion. In fact you were fun sometimes. Then you morphed into something else. I don't even know if you are male or female ...........so......for future reference I won't play your game.

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by JustRalph
When you first came on the board you seemed like a decent member of the female persuasion. In fact you were fun sometimes. Then you morphed into something else. I don't even know if you are male or female ...........so......for future reference I won't play your game.

So that's why you wanted to know where I lived. Yech!

[sq764]

Originally posted by Secretariat
So that's why you wanted to know where I lived. Yech!

He/she morphed into an angry, bitter, whiny Democrat.. There's a lot of them running around lately :-)

[Tom]

Originally posted by Secretariat
So that's why you wanted to know where I lived. Yech!

Sec,
I think he was refering to Puss-N-Boots, not you. You may be misguided at times, but you are OK. CrapPatch is another story.