Posted on 01/05/2006 12:09:34 PM PST by EternalHope
IRAN: Bad Moon Rising (Vanity)
All living former Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense have been summoned to a meeting tomorrow (Friday, January 6, 2006). To the best of my knowledge this has never been done before.
Our current Secretary of State is on a whirlwind tour of our allies, but will (presumably) be back in time for this meeting.
Why? Why NOW? Is something up?
These facts are not in dispute:
1. The current leadership in Iran is religiously determined to exterminate Israel, and to spread Islam to all the world. They have expressly stated that Allah would be please if Israel were nuked, even if every Muslim capital were destroyed in retaliation. They are psychopathic.
2. We must take action VERY soon or Iran will have nukes.
3. Iran already has the almost certain ability to retaliate against the U.S., using unconventional weapons of mass destruction. (I also thought Saddam would retaliate against us. I hope I'm wrong about this too.)
1+2+3=Bad Moon Rising. Trouble on the Way.
The Iranian people do not support their insane government. But they have not been able to overthrow that government, and there is almost no chance that they will be able to do so in time.
The stakes could not be higher. An attack on Iran could throw the whole world into turmoil. No one can be sure how something like this will turn out. It could even be the trigger that starts a generalized war between Islam and those parts of the rest of the world that still have the will to fight.
And yet, if the U.S. does not eliminate the Iranian threat, Israel will HAVE to. It is a clear matter of national survival for them.
An attack by Israel is quite likely to spark general war in the middle east. Although it is fraught with peril, the less risky course is for the U.S. to do the job, not Israel.
The Democrats know action cannot be delayed much longer. And they are intensely opposed. Is it a coincidence that, right NOW, an all out attempt is being made by the media and the Democrat party to destroy the President and cripple our ability to fight the war on terror?
I believe President Bush knows all of this, and has the courage to do what is right in spite of the political consequences.
Side Note #1: The Howard Dean/Nancy Pelosi Democrats and their allies in the MSM and academia are certain to go even more berserk. I'm not sure we have the national unity we will need to overcome their intense hysteria. But if Iran responds with an attack on the U.S. with WMD's, the nation may come together in spite of the Democrats' screams that it's all Bush's fault.
Side Note #2: A major Muslim feast associated with the end of the Hajj is next week. The annual Hajj pilgrimage climaxes on Monday with the Eid al-Adha, a four-day feast. At least 2.5 million pilgrims are expected to be in Mecca.
An attack on Iran while millions of Muslims are on pilgrimage in Saudia Arabia could easily result in such unstable conditions in Saudia Arabia that the kingdom would fall. Hence I do not expect to see anything until the annual pilgrimage is over and the crowds have left Saudi Arabia.
Watch Russia.
Well, how many Saudi, Kuwaiti, UAE, Iraqi, etc. oil fields and facilities are within range of Iranian missiles? If Iran fought back by trying to take out the regions critical oil infrastructure and causing problems in the Straits of Hormuz what would be the damage to the U.S. and global economy? IMHO, that's the weak spot of the west and also the least defended.
readers,
I believe the reason someone left us with the overview called revelations and other "prophectic visions" is to empower us. If we do nothing, then the path described in those passages is guaranteed. We have been enabled by someone who has seen the future. It is up to us to alter the path if we so choose.
Clearly, a nuclear empowered group of islamic states (IRAN,SYRIA and who knows who else) ensures the power WILL be used against the Israelites and then the EU, us etc etc.
It is my opinion that those peoples are not in any way capable of any peace... therefore should be stripped of ANY military capability.
Failing to act only gives them greater capacity to our detriment.
imo
From Cabinet Rooms Past, a Gathering to Assess Iraq
The above article is from the NYT, so you may not want to go there (at least wash your hands when you are done...).
Drudge had the story when it first broke. The FR thread that resulted is here:
White House Invites All Past Sec of State and Defense to Discuss Iraq
There have been a couple of other threads as well. The meeting has happened. The news media has included generalized blather about Iraq in its reporting about the meeting, but nothing specific.
You're right.
If Iran decides to go off the edge they would do well to remember the words of Admiral Yamamoto after Pearl Harbor.
===================================================
If the first part of your statement is true (I am not convinced) then how do you explain the second part? The iranians got rid of the shah by taking to the streets and getting killed in the process.
I do not expect to see anything in the media in advance of the attack, and I certainly hope we are able to achieve tactical surprise.
I doubt that we will be able to achieve STRATEGIC surprise. We will feel a need to advise key allies in advance, and hence I strongly suspect Iran will be made aware of our overall intentions by one or more of these "allies".
===================================================
Iran could shut down the Straits of Hormuz tonight with resources in place. The Straits of Malaaca (sp?) are more crucial to the world economy though and they are virtually undefended.
"Not as bad as nukes going off in Tel Aviv and New York. I also seriously wonder if the reason Bush has pushed missile defense research so much was to counter a threat such as this one."
Oh, I agree, I'm not saying we shouldn't act. Just pointing out that Iran has options that can hurt us. They can't stand toe to toe with us militarily, but they can inflict some pain, and given how divided our nation is, that ability to hurt us could cause real trouble politically as well as hurt the American people.
Iran has spread its nuclear facilities out to over 200 locations, and hardened them against air attack. We have been developing special weapons capable of taking out targets that are several hundred feet underground, but I do not know how deep we can get without using tactical nukes. Iran may well be able to go deep enough to keep us from knocking them out with anything less than a tactical nuke.
In other words, I certainly hope it would be "simple", but I doubt it.
Watch China too. After all they just gave the Iranians a missile system.
I am so over all of these idiots. Can't we just build a deathstar and tell'em all to shove it.
I don't believe the Israeli's can fly to Iran and back without refueling. They would need to refuel a couple of times if not three times.
Supposedly, clandestine polling indicates 80% of the people of Iran would welcome the overthrow of the Ayatollahs. I do not have a direct link to this, but you might check any post by DoctorZIn on FR, or go to his web site here:
Regime Change Iran
His site is excellent. You might find his comments on Turkey, posted today, quite relevant to the overall situation as well.
huh?
watch the west crumble?
surely you jest.
When the 'balloon-goes-up'... you find out a lot about nations you 'thought'... were your friends.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.