Iran Building New Missile, Increasing Military Strength

[Aught Six]

Iran Says Its Missiles Can Now Reach 1,250 Miles

"If the Americans attack Iran, the world will change ... they will not dare to make such a mistake," Rafsanjani was quoted as saying in a speech at an exhibition on "Space and Stable National Security."

We need to get Iraq settled and take advantage of our current position in the Middle East. Iran's government is in need of a good toppling, right now.

[DougMD]

I dont' know much about this except to say that dummy Bush was right on his whole axis of evil speech that got the lefties all balled up in a wad.

If we do nothing, won't Israel go in there and destroy those nukes before Iran goes too far? After all, they have more at stake in this than we do. Also, what is the time line for that? A month, a year, or what?

[Aught Six]

If we do nothing, won't Israel go in there and destroy those nukes before Iran goes too far? After all, they have more at stake in this than we do. Also, what is the time line for that? A month, a year, or what?

They might, but we have more to lose than they do. More people, more money, more interests, more country. Iran hates Israel and the US equally, so we are also at stake.

Considering how much money Iran funnels into international terrorism, we should take them out now. Of course, that's not going to happen with the situation in Iraq. On the plus side, we're right next door. If we can get the new Iraqi government stabilized so we're not babysitting their military, I think an attack on Iran would follow very shortly. The bottom line, however, is that time's a-wastin'.

[kevin1]

If Iran does fire one of those crappy Shahab missiles at Israel it will most likely be because Israel did something to deserve it , nobody knows how to irritate a neighbor better than them . When you live in the second largest enclave of people who hate you it isn't wise to throw rocks at them . I have no love for Iran either , but why we support agitators like Israel is beyond my understanding . The Arabs will get mad enough to wipe them out without our help , and we won't be able to stop them when it happens .

Attacking Iran right now would be political suicide for us , they haven't directly threatened us so the rest of the world will be on their side . We won't have a single ally in a fight like that , and our forces are stretched thinly enough that we don't need to go off half cocked . Let cooler heads prevail .

[Aught Six]

If Iran does fire one of those crappy Shahab missiles at Israel it will most likely be because Israel did something to deserve it , nobody knows how to irritate a neighbor better than them . When you live in the second largest enclave of people who hate you it isn't wise to throw rocks at them . I have no love for Iran either , but why we support agitators like Israel is beyond my understanding . The Arabs will get mad enough to wipe them out without our help , and we won't be able to stop them when it happens .

You're right, but regardless of what Israel does, Iran continues to hate America. For this reason we still need to attack and defeat them. They are terrorists.

Attacking Iran right now would be political suicide for us , they haven't directly threatened us so the rest of the world will be on their side . We won't have a single ally in a fight like that , and our forces are stretched thinly enough that we don't need to go off half cocked . Let cooler heads prevail .

I disagree. They haven't threatened us directly because they are cowards (I'm overlooking the whole hostage situation for the sake of argument). The Iranian government is content to pay other murderers to kill Americans for them, which is the same as doing it themselves in my book. Frankly, if Bush is re-elected, I hope he puts politics aside and crushes Tehran. The only way for us to be safe is for our enemies to be dead.

They're in the process of building around five nuclear weapons, they continue to develop more powerful and longer-ranging missile systems, and again, there's that money going into terrorist groups around the world. In short, Iran's goal is to establish a global Shi'ite theocracy. Whether the pansies in Europe want to accept it or not, the entire world loses if Iran wins.

I say destroy them while we're already there. Iraq and Afghanistan would make fine bases for an all-out attack. It'll take more troops and more money, but it's something that needs to be done sooner than later.

I could allude to the California mountain lion problem. If you don't kill a growing enemy because of "political correctness", that enemy will eventually kill you.

***

On a side note, it's important to differentiate Arabs and Persians. Iran distrusts many of its neighbors due to differences going back a thousand years. The Arabs conquered Persia and more or less forced Islam upon the people. Most Arabs are Sunni, whereas the Persians are mostly Shi'ite. I suppose you could use the comparison between Catholics and Protestants to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Different culture, different language, different religion.

They're still terrorists, though, and they share a mutual hatred of Jews and the West. In spite of that, I wouldn't expect Iran and the rest of the Middle East to work in a highly concerted effort against us.

[DougMD]

I was thinking Israel has more at stake because a missile launched from Iran could reach Israel, whereas it would have to be moved and fired much closer to the US to do us harm. Nevertheless, something has to be done before it is too late. If Kerry had his way, we'd be disarmed and Saddam would be in Kuwait. Does anyone believe we'd be better off with Kerry in charge looking forward? I fear for our lives!

[Aught Six]

I was thinking Israel has more at stake because a missile launched from Iran could reach Israel, whereas it would have to be moved and fired much closer to the US to do us harm. Nevertheless, something has to be done before it is too late. If Kerry had his way, we'd be disarmed and Saddam would be in Kuwait. Does anyone believe we'd be better off with Kerry in charge looking forward? I fear for our lives!

It's not just the missile that bother me. I just view that program as a sign that Iran is determined to get ready for all out war with America. I'm more worried that they could potentially smuggle a small nuclear device in the US and have some nut detonate it. That's why I believe we're just as at risk as Israel. Not only would we not see if coming, but it would kill us just as dead as the Israelis.

Regarding Kerry, he will literally be the death of us.

[kevin1]

I don't make the political situation in this world Aught ,
I just make observations about it .

If we attacked Iran tomorrow we'd undoubtedly crush them like a grape , but like Iraq we'd be wet nursing them until they could stand on their own . That would make 3 countries that we would be doing that to , and the rest of the world would go berserk . Most other countries hate us already because they consider us bullies , attacking yet another "weaker" country will only make our position harder to defend .

The Israelis aren't exactly popular elsewhere either , most other countries view them with suspicion at best , and the Arabs despise them . We get a black eye every time we defend them , so why keep doing it ? Europe apparently doesn't feel threatened by this new missile , or at least they aren't saying anything . We can't even prove to the satisfaction of the other countries that Iran is supporting terrorists , how can we expect them to back us up if we don't have credibility ?

Add to this the fact that our country steadfastly refused to help Europe and other countries battle terrorism , but just let us get attacked and suddenly we're leading the charge against them . There are decades of barely reserved resentment against us because of this , and the countries that we refused to help because "they aren't attacking us" are now laughing while we get zapped because they think that we deserve it for being so arrogant .

Attacking Iran right now would be a huge mistake unless they make an overtly hostile act against us , without that even the British wouldn't back us . Iran could never hope to win a direct war with us , and they know it , so they're baiting us hoping that we'll blast them and lose world support . That would be the surest way for them to win a confrontation with us , just do nothing and let us zap them . Don't fall for it , Korea tried it and they don't seem to be getting anywhere .

[WANWTF]

The Israelis aren't exactly popular elsewhere either , most other countries view them with suspicion at best , and the Arabs despise them . We get a black eye every time we defend them , so why keep doing it ? Europe apparently doesn't feel threatened by this new missile , or at least they aren't saying anything . We can't even prove to the satisfaction of the other countries that Iran is supporting terrorists , how can we expect them to back us up if we don't have credibility ?

Isreal will take care of its own. They attacked and destroyed Iraq's Nuclear facilities - thankfully. We can't prove ANYTHING to other countries REGARDLESS of the evidence. Nothing we can bring to the table will sway any of those countries or the UN. Look at the UN's makeup - how do you expect anything from them aside from a lot of talk. There is no amount of credibility that could sway those who lack the very credibility they demand of others.

Add to this the fact that our country steadfastly refused to help Europe and other countries battle terrorism , but just let us get attacked and suddenly we're leading the charge against them . There are decades of barely reserved resentment against us because of this , and the countries that we refused to help because "they aren't attacking us" are now laughing while we get zapped because they think that we deserve it for being so arrogant .

What help have they required? We have been overly reserved in our responses. 9/11 was NOT the first attack on us - it was finally the straw that broke the camel's back. Europe won't even help themselves for the most part. That whole Kosovo mess should have been resolved by Europe - instead, we bypassed the UN, managed to get NATO on board, and then after we started, went to the UN. Once again, at NO threat to us, we stick our necks out for Europe. It is a new era, a new war. I'm glad Bush is redistributing our troops (that countries were upset for being there for the better part of the cold war) - and guess what - they are crying because of the economic impact our leaving would have. They could give a rats furry behind about the fact that if needed, those men and women would have put their lives on the line.

Attacking Iran right now would be a huge mistake unless they make an overtly hostile act against us , without that even the British wouldn't back us . Iran could never hope to win a direct war with us , and they know it , so they're baiting us hoping that we'll blast them and lose world support . That would be the surest way for them to win a confrontation with us , just do nothing and let us zap them . Don't fall for it , Korea tried it and they don't seem to be getting anywhere .

I agree with you entirely on this. We couldn't attack them right now, strictly tactically we couldn't. However, if the threat reaches a point, I don't want my countries safety to be contigent upon the approval of another country or the UN

[Aught Six]

I don't make the political situation in this world Aught ,
I just make observations about it .

I'm not coming down on you; I just felt the need to point a few things out. I just maintain the attitude that some things need to be corrected, even if it leads to a lot more work down the road.

If we attacked Iran tomorrow we'd undoubtedly crush them like a grape , but like Iraq we'd be wet nursing them until they could stand on their own . That would make 3 countries that we would be doing that to , and the rest of the world would go berserk . Most other countries hate us already because they consider us bullies , attacking yet another "weaker" country will only make our position harder to defend .

While I agree that we would defeat Iran, I really believe that it'll take ten times the time and effort we spent in Iraq. They have a military vastly superior to Saddam's, but the fact remains that the job needs to be done sooner than later. They can only grow more powerful with each passing moment. We saw what sanctions did to Iraq's military and weapons programs: absolutely nothing! Iran won't be bothered by them either.

Sure, many countries will consider us bullies, but so what? Iran wants America gone, along with all of us Americans. They are an enemy that we've battled for decades, so I really don't give a hoot what the international community things. They can b*tch and moan all they want, but THEY WILL NOT DICTATE HOW WE DEFEND OURSELVES. Most of the world is inhabited by cowards who favor appeasement over freedom. That's not the country I come from.

The Israelis aren't exactly popular elsewhere either , most other countries view them with suspicion at best , and the Arabs despise them . We get a black eye every time we defend them , so why keep doing it ? Europe apparently doesn't feel threatened by this new missile , or at least they aren't saying anything . We can't even prove to the satisfaction of the other countries that Iran is supporting terrorists , how can we expect them to back us up if we don't have credibility ?

We defend them for two obvious reasons: they are the only successful "democracy" in the Middle East; and there are a lot of Jewish interest groups in the US. I don't consider either of the two sufficient enough for my tastes, but they remain our ally against Islamic fundamentalism, for whatever reasons.

Europe doesn't feel threatened by Iran because they continue to sit there sucking their thumbs, assuming they'll be safe as long as they keep trading technology and materials with the mullahs. Again, I don't care about international credibility. America is best protected by Americans, and no one else! Besides, we have no credibility as it is, so what worse could happen if we decide to assert ourselves against these whackos? You think France is going to declare war on us?

Add to this the fact that our country steadfastly refused to help Europe and other countries battle terrorism , but just let us get attacked and suddenly we're leading the charge against them . There are decades of barely reserved resentment against us because of this , and the countries that we refused to help because "they aren't attacking us" are now laughing while we get zapped because they think that we deserve it for being so arrogant .

We're resented because we're stronger, richer, freer, and more successful than anyone else. Frankly, I don't see the issue in ignoring other country's problems. What help are we getting with ours? I'm tired of bailing out these slobs all over the world.

Attacking Iran right now would be a huge mistake unless they make an overtly hostile act against us , without that even the British wouldn't back us . Iran could never hope to win a direct war with us , and they know it , so they're baiting us hoping that we'll blast them and lose world support . That would be the surest way for them to win a confrontation with us , just do nothing and let us zap them . Don't fall for it , Korea tried it and they don't seem to be getting anywhere .

Unless they make an overtly hostile act against us?

What about the hostage crisis in 1979? What about the murder of 241 Marines in Lebanon in 1983? What about the bombing of Khobar Towers in 1996 (we lost almost 20 of our soldiers--my grandfather-in-law was there when it happened)? What about the WEAPONS AND TERRORISTS they're sending in Iraq right this minute?

The bottom line is that they are a bloodthirsty enemy that needs to be destroyed immediately!