Posted on 01/06/2006 11:20:30 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
The massive stroke that cut down Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon late Wednesday night not only throws Israeli politics into turmoil. It marks the likely starting point of the coming nuclear showdown that will pit the Jewish state and the Free World against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Vice President Dick Cheney noted the inevitable nearly one year ago. He told talk radio host Don Imus just minutes before the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2005, that "the Israelis might well decide to act first" should they conclude Iran had acquired "significant nuclear capability."
Much has happened since. In February 2005, the U.S. announced it would sell 500 conventional "bunker busting" bombs to Israel, that could be used to take out buried nuclear and missile sites in Iran. But as reality sank in about what an effective military strike against 60 to 70 Iranian sites would require, Prime Minister Sharon -- a long-time battlefield general -- had second thoughts.
Unilateral Israeli action, without provocation from Iran, could unleash a diplomatic, economic and military backlash such as the Jewish state had never witnessed since 1948, Mr. Sharon argued. After meeting with President Bush at his Texas ranch last April, Mr. Sharon made a strategic decision -- against the advice of his own generals and intelligence staff -- to place his bets on U.S.-backed nuclear negotiations with Iran led by the European Union.
Almost no one really believed those negotiations would succeed. The Europeans expressed mounting exasperation as Tehran broke its promises repeatedly, closing nuclear sites to inspectors and resuming banned nuclear processing.
Faced with the impatience of his own military, Mr. Sharon's reasoning was simple. Every other option was worse.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
may you live in interesting times..chinese curse
Hitler was just bluffing too and that led to a 10 yr war.
Israel won't be able to do this alone. We're going to have to help. And IMHO they SHOULDN'T have to do it alone.
We're the big boy on the block. If we don't have the guts to do something about this, we're no better than Neville Chamberlain.
If BEBE Netenyahu gets in there, he'll hit Iran by late summer. IMO
Welcome to a new (probably soon to be not so cold) Cold War. Far worse than anything we had going with the USSR. At least most of them in charge shared many aspects of western civilization with us. These people today don't. Things could get very bad very quickly while you sleep tonight. The world could change before we wake up in the morning. God help us.
With what I said in my first post, I still will do my part if anything serious goes down. If I have kids someday, I'd like to do my part to make the world safer, instead of trying to appease like Democrats.
Of all the sorry campaign 'promises' President Bush has stuck to, I truly hope that the "Iran will not be allowed ot have nukes" is one that stands out to him and is acted upon.
It's beyond 'crunch' time with the Iranian islamonazis, and Israel, America and the world has already been coerced into paying a high enough price.
JIHAD WATCH.org (AFX): Washington - "US FREEZES ASSETS OF TWO IRAN NUCLEAR FIRMS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Treasury Department said the duo -- Novin Energy Co and Mesbah Energy Co -- were guilty of fostering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)." (January 4, 2006)
MonstersAndCritics.com (DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR): Hamburg - "GERMAN INTELLIGENCE WARNS THAT IRAN HAS NEW MISSILES" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "German intelligence believes Iran has now bought 18 longer-range missiles from North Korea, giving Teheran the capability to attack targets in central Europe, the German daily newspaper Bild reported Friday. The study by the foreign intelligence service BND said the BM-25 missiles were being purchased from Pyongyang in the form of kit sets. The mobile missiles, which are based on the Russian SS-N-6 missile for submarine launch, will have a nominal range of 2,500 kilometres. However it was possible to upgrade them to hit targets 3,500 kilometres away, the Munich-based BND said. Iran already has Shehab-3 missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometres.") (December 16, 2005) (Read More...)
FOX NEWS.com (AP): Moscow - "RUSSIA AGREES TO $1 BILLION ARMS DEAL WITH IRAN" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Russia has agreed to sell more than $1 billion worth of missiles and other defense systems to Iran, Russian news media reported Friday, a move expected to draw a heated reaction from the United States." (December 2, 2005) (Read More...)
A Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding a NOVEMBER 28, 2005 COMPASS article: "IRAN'S PRESIDENT: 'I WILL STOP CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY' Secret police crackdown results in the torture of 10 other Christians" (November 30, 2005) (Read More...)
JIHAD WATCH.org (ASIA TIMES): "Ahmadinejad off the deep end: 'I say accomplishment of a world without America and Israel is both possible and feasible'" (October 27, 2005) (Read More...)
WASHINGTON TIMES.com: Ramallah, West Bank - "IRAN LEADER PREDICTS ISRAEL'S DEMISE" by Joshua Mitnick (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday predicted a wave of Palestinian attacks that would erase Israel "from the face of the Islamic world," just hours before a suicide bomber killed five Israelis in a marketplace.") (October 27, 2005) (Read More...)
MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch Series - No. 1018: "IRANIAN ANIMATED FILM FOR CHILDREN PROMOTES SUICIDE ATTACKS" (SNIPPET: "The following are excerpts from an Iranian animated movie for children, which aired on IRIB 3 TV on October 28, 2005, at 8 a.m. Iran time. To view this clip visit: http://memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=906 ") (November 3, 2005) (Read More...)
MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch Series - No. 929: "Al-Arabiya TV Report: Iranian Volunteer Suicide Bomber Organization of 40,000 'Time Bombs; Recruited to Target Americans in Iraq and Israel" (July 6, 2005) (Read More...)
MEMRI TV.org - Transcript - Clip No. 736: "ON THE IRANIAN MOVEMENT OF 'MARTYRDOM SEEKERS'" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "TRANSCRIPT SNIPPET: "The following are excerpts from a report about the movement of "martyrdom seekers" in Iran. Al-Arabiya TV aired this report on July 2, 2005.) (Read More...)
I agree. The US and Israel should do this together and tell the rest of the world to go screw itself. Right now Israel is the only country we can really count on since europe's leaders seem bent on appeasment.
bttt
Without provocation from Iran? What sort of provocation are they expected to wait for... a bright white flash over Tel Aviv?
Iran is ~telegraphing~ their punches. They mean to erase Israel, and they don't care if it means their own destruction. The provocation is manifest.
Yep.
You always post great links, so I bump them. :-)
Ditto that because the Soviets were never suicidal or insane, unlike these Islamic nut jobs.
Thank you nopardons.
You're very welcome Cindy.
We don't need God's help on this. We're strong enough to do this ourselves. We just need a little luck and some guts. I think we have enough of both...
We always need God.
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