airborne Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 (edited) http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1320 This is strange. I've also heard mossad/ Israeli Intelligence estimates of a nuclear bomb by the mid-or end of 2008... [Edit - Removed quotation of entire article - RB] Edited December 4, 2007 by RationalBiker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 This is strange. I've also heard mossad/ Israeli Intelligence estimates of a nuclear bomb by the mid-or end of 2008... Which have you heard: that Iran has the capability to develop a nuclear bomb by the end of 2008 or that they are on target to do so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborne Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Which have you heard: that Iran has the capability to develop a nuclear bomb by the end of 2008 or that they are on target to do so? Why should it matter? Whereas in Western terms, these figures may not be too scary, for Israel, the prospect of Iran’s Mahmud Ahmadinejad having two to four nuclear bombs to play with by spring 2008 is ominous enough to blow over all its security calculations. - http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1315 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Why should it matter? It matters because the latter implies that Iran is pursuing uranium weapons while the former does not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborne Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I think capability. Not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidV Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 This is strange. I've also heard mossad/ Israeli Intelligence estimates of a nuclear bomb by the mid-or end of 2008... That article sounds like pure conjecture to me. Of course there's no reason to believe the NIE either, considering how wrong the one on WMD's in Iraq was in 2003. Perhaps the nuclear issue is simply a political football used by both Iran and the West for political gain. Whatever the real state of Iran's nuclear program is, we are unlikely to hear about it from the Bush administration if it is not consistent with its political goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrock3215 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Oops. 4 years ago. People all over were calling for an Iran bombing and now rethinking their reasoning. Oil futures are down big today. Bush is speaking right now on this topic, I will post more later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidOdden Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 People all over were calling for an Iran bombing and now rethinking their reasoning.Why do you think the conclusion is not still valid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrock3215 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Why do you think the conclusion is not still valid? Because it never was. Chavez loses and then this. Irrationality is always ultimately dismissed because by definition, the irrational does not work. By the way, Bush is still talking about this in his press conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 (edited) People all over were calling for an Iran bombing and now rethinking their reasoning. This is the same fallacious reasoning that argues the United States had no right to topple Saddam Hussein's dictatorship because weapons of mass destruction were never found. Iran's ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels is not the only factor in assessing foreign policy towards the Islamic Republic. Edited December 4, 2007 by DarkWaters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidOdden Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Because it never was.Sure it was: Iran has been threatening the US, and it doesn't matter whether the threat is nuclear or IEDs. Now, if Iran were to also renounce and refrain from all forms of aggression, then there would be a reason to re-consider the need to mushroom Tehran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mammon Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 That article sounds like pure conjecture to me. Of course there's no reason to believe the NIE either, considering how wrong the one on WMD's in Iraq was in 2003. Perhaps the nuclear issue is simply a political football used by both Iran and the West for political gain. Whatever the real state of Iran's nuclear program is, we are unlikely to hear about it from the Bush administration if it is not consistent with its political goals. Totally agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Because it never was. Chavez loses and then this. Irrationality is always ultimately dismissed because by definition, the irrational does not work. There has been lots of death and destruction in the world, including long running brutal totalitarian states, e.g. Soviet Union. Irrationality may be "ultimately dismissed", but that "ultimately" could be hundreds of years or more. You need to fight the thugs right now when they are in power harming people, not hope for a change of mind of the populace who give rise to such thuggishness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 According to the news, including Bush's press conference, there was a nuclear program but it was halted. Who's to say it won't start again? Saying that because ti was halted we've got nothing to worry about is absurd. Would you feel safer if the thug holdign you hostage ceases to aim at you but keeps the gun in his hand? I wouldn't. Maybe the report, if it's valid, does signal diplomatic pressure can work. But for diplomacy to work you need the threat of force to back it up. In any case, Iran never disclosed its nukes program. Even if it had, it would still be a violation fo the non-proliferation treaty. So Iran remains clearly in the wrong by any measure. Nor is the development of nukes the only issue. Aside from the fact that Iran is a dictatorship, it has been attacking our forces in iraq directlya nd indirectly. That's an act of war. Iran also supports lots of terrorist groups all over the Middle east and elsewhere (remember the bombings against Jewish centers in Buenos Aires?), many of which have attacked our troops and our people (remember the hostages taken in Lebanon in the 80s?) Finally, there are reports Iran is helping the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan. There are many rational reasons for attacking Iran, nuikes are just the most urgent one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterrose Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 If Iran were to also renounce and refrain from all forms of aggression, then there would be a reason to re-consider the need to mushroom Tehran.There would be a reason to not mushroom Tehran? Or there might be a reason to reconsider the need to mushroom Tehran. What else would there be to consider if Tehran had renounced and refrained? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrock3215 Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 (edited) Just on CNN: Iranian navy ships came within 200 yards of US ships in the straits of hormuz. They made threatening radio transmissions and approached. Before fired upon, they broke off. Edited to add: Apparantly radio transmission stated "You are going to blow up." Edited January 7, 2008 by adrock3215 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Here's the report from Iran's "Fars" news-agency. TEHRAN (FNA)- Five Iranian speedboats warned three US navy ships to keep away from the Islamic Republic's territorial waters in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, US media quoted a Pentagon official as saying on Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.