Posted on 02/05/2012 2:13:51 PM PST by Nachum
Several years ago, prior to my retirement from the CIA, I was meeting with a senior Iranian asset in the Middle East. I had finished debriefing him on the intelligence he had to provide, and we had launched into a more expansive conversation about the overall direction of American policy toward Iran. I was trying to explain the rationale behind our sanctions regime and the thought process that had led us to conclude that we could persuade the Islamic Republic of Iran to modify its behavior.
The asset interrupted me. "You really don't have any idea who you are dealing with, do you?" he asked. I told him I was not sure I understood what he meant.
The source elaborated. We were under the illusion we were dealing with rational actors. We were not. We were under the illusion we were playing a game, which would stretch out over many years. Our adversaries in Iran shared no such belief. They expected this conflict to reach its climax in the very near future.
They also knew, to a moral certainty, that they would win.
Iran is an overwhelmingly Islamic nation, and almost all Iranians belong to the Twelver sect of the Shia branch of Islam. This sect awaits the return of the 12th Imam, or Mahdi, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammed anointed by Allah himself. According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi has been in hiding in caves since the 9th century.
The Mahdi has been hidden for 1,200 years now, but he will return just before the Day of Judgment. According to the Hadith, his return will be preceded by three years of chaos, violence and cataclysmic events. He will rule over the world for a period of seven years, eliminate all tyranny and oppression,
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.tbo.com ...
I remember as a kid,, going weeks or months,,and never hearing a word about islam, or that wretched part of the world.
I would love a day without islam.
Very sobering but many of us already knew what we were dealing with.Too bad many in charge do not.
Thanks for posting.
I love it when someone who had “Been there, Done that, Got the T-shirt” confirms what I have always said.
Iran is an overwhelmingly Islamic nation, and almost all Iranians belong to the Twelver sect of the Shia branch of Islam. This sect awaits the return of the 12th Imam, or Mahdi, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammed anointed by Allah himself. According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi has been in hiding in caves since the 9th century.The Mahdi hides in caves knee-deep in pungent bat guano but he doesn't negotiate?
Great point! You have just stolen my thunder
My earliest memory of the ME is the Iran Hostage Crisis.
Part of the reason was that there weren’t many muslims in the US when you were a kid. I have attached a link to the US Census Bureau which shows that the islamic population of the US increased by 156% from 1990 - 2008, from 527,000 to 1,349,000. I have read that the US islamic population was around 100,000 in 1970, but the 1970 census data is voluminous and I have found only .pdf images, no digital data. So the islamic population has grown to 3 times the 1990 figures and 15 times the 1970 figures if you believe these stats.
I suspect that the policy allowing preferential immigration from cultures dedicated to the destruction of our own is part of the Progressive need for self destruction, but I admit a personal bias in this regard.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/religion.html
Good find.
Israel certainly knows the irrational calculus driving the leadership in Iran. They will not sit back and wait for an attack they know is coming. And their action is coming soon.
Same here, followed by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Born in ‘72.
I hate it that the best Israel can hope from us is that we don’t betray them any farther. I hope they know not to tell our government what they’re gonna do before they do, because the Muslim-in-Chief would make sure any attempt at Israeli self-defense would fail.
When Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear sites, it will face two enemies. One, the Iranian military. Two, the weasels in Obama’s Defense Dept. who will be on the phone to Iran and the press giving warnings that Israel’s jets have just taken off. It will be very messy over there.
That is what we will do "continue to kick the can down the road".-Tom
Well, being a Muslim stuffed down a well and all, I'd suspect he's not all that well socialized, and still won't be, whenever he pops out.
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