Iran could be stopped depending on how “p.c.” of a war one wants to fight. Were we to abandon the idea of creating a democracy, occupying or rebuilding Iran, she could easily be crippled, as the country’s gas refinement is a huge weakness. Their offshore oil rigs could be captured/Straits of Hormuz secured/”Navy” obliterated quickly. The communication and electrical grid (like ours) is extremely vulnerable, and underground nuke development bunkers are not a problem, even for conventional munitions. Their fanatics in charge could be atomized at will. Cry havoc.

It’s all carrot, no stick.

A wimpy little plastic carrot.

Or has Gates forgotten that much history?

He should resign if he can’t do the job.

And take the lickspittle-in-chief with him

Gates told a Senate panel that a military option would only delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions …

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So with this logic, lets just give the technology away to everyone!
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If they get bombed back to the stoneage then it will take awhile for them to get back up to speed!

Even if it’s a bluff and the Pentagon does think it can stop the program, what do we gain by telling Iran we can’t? It doesn’t give us any extra leverage during negotiations.

It’s a warning to Israel.

This is madness. You are either uninformed or in denial.

Basilsbest on May 2, 2009 at 8:42 AM

If I refuse to call him irrational it is not because of ignorance or denial but because I am using words precisely, not carelessly.

These people working towards our collective suicide are perfectly sane people who have believed lies and who are now acting on their false beliefs in a perfectly rational manner.

Calling them all “mad” or “irrational” is technically incorrect and sounds merely like a petty insult which is not, I think, a good way to get anybody to take the problem seriously.

In his 2006 speech before the U. N. Ahmadinejad spoke of his longing for the return of the 12th Imam – which will mark the end of the world. This is madness. You are either uninformed or in denial.

This is not a rational leader seeking to gain weapons that would ensure his country’s security.

Disturb the Universe on April 30, 2009 at 7:06 PM

I think you do your argument a disservice by suggesting that the Iranian president is irrational.

He is completely rational but his goals are not our goals, his world view is not our world view. The problem is not his rationality but his desires, intentions and motivations. Acquiring and using nuclear weapons is a perfectly rational way to bring about chaos, if that is what he wants to achieve.

I think it is important to be clear about this for two reasons:

First, because calling him a madman (which he clearly isn’t) will only make you seem unreasonable and distract attention away from the real issue.

Second, because a lot of people in Europe and America need to learn that the whole world does not share their liberal, pseudo-Christian aspirations, values, morals or goals. They need to understand that the liberal ‘western’ view of government and society is not the only game in town and it is not what everybody in the world wants or is working towards.

Seems an appropriate place to put this.

Very interesting, yet see the following from Drudge:

by Norman Podhoretz.

What is apparent from the absence in each of these is the mention of our Good Friend:

Ill Kim Jong and the re-start of the N. Korean nuclear proliferation program.
Israel set the time table back, once already, now the Persians are trying to buy more time to play ketchup.

My little Bambi is gonna give them enough time to do all they want to accomplish, Israel be d**ned (Not my sentiments, to be sure).

Please Bibi, castrate these Ghouls (and that is the apt description of them).

Obama says he’ll take whatever steps are necessary to prevent Iran from getting nukes. Says he’ll take “no option off the table” – that’s usually code for “military option”.

Hillary jumps in and promises “Massive Retaliation” against Iran if it attacks Israel.

Well – we shall see. But right now it’s looking more and more like our impotent President will be defeated by an Islamofascist fool. And Hillary will hang on for the ride!

And besides – once Israel is wiped off the map – then there are no need of the anti-ballistic missiles in Poland right? So we can give that back to the Russians also.

We are the worst generation for electing this fool.

Whatever weaponry and technology they may have would be rendered useless. Regime topples. End game. But it has to be done very soon.

Whatever weaponry they may have would be uses. Regime topples. End game. But it has to be done very soon.

Other than the harridans.

As much as it disgusts me, this is the most sober analysis on the topic I have recently read, the US will claim hollow shallow / victory in return for no real suspension of Iran’s program, just more BS assurances – Just like North Korea, even more shameful some of our pundits may put up pictures of ‘exploding infrastructure’ also a la NOKO and buttress this hollow bull as some form of Obama victory – while in reality it is business as usual.

In the mean time America will give up the farm, bow to radical Islam and wait for the 1st Islamic bombs to go off.. Hopefully somewhere else, which is a deluded as this strategy.

I’m sitting here trying to figure out how it’s a good idea for Gates to admit this, but I’m stumped

Part of trying to soften the greatest blow to American prestige since the British burned the White House in 1814, and that was just an humiliation: This will be a “game-changing” acquisition of nuclear weapons by a hostile power in the world’s most unstable region, to the detriment of our historical ally, that we have repeatedly and publically, through top leaders of both parties, declared “unacceptable.”