Bush Won't Rule Out Action Against Iran Over Nukes

[3days]

Jan 17, 2005 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Monday he would not rule out military action against Iran if that country was not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear weapons program.

"I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table," Bush said in an interview with NBC News when asked if he would rule out the potential for military action against Iran "if it continues to stonewall the international community about the existence of its nuclear weapons program."

Iran denies it has been trying to make nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is geared solely to producing electricity.

Bush's comments followed Pentagon criticism on Monday of a published report that it was mounting reconnaissance missions inside Iran to identify potential nuclear and other targets.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=420027

And the drums are warming up

[Occulus]

1. Quickly.

[The Zanti Regent]

39. He can't kill my only child again.

I don't have another one to give to Captain AWOL.

[Cadence]

63. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I don't know what else to say.
:hug:

[Goldeneye]

2. Diplomatically....

my ass.

[FloridaPat]

3. Gee, he sure ruled it out right before the election? Is this a flip-flop??

[elsur]

61. Not going to bat for him but ....

.... I don't think they ruled out anything before the election. I seem to remember them saying that they weren't considering military action at the time. Now they're saying they also wouldn't rule it out.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, you don't publicly rule out military action against any country which likely has or will have nukes.

I don't see us in Iran. The public wouldn't stand for it unless, God forbid, we were hit by them.

[Megahurtz]

62. Don't forget that

Bushitler does what he wants when he wants regardless of what the public feels.

[AuntiBush]

65. He most certainly does!

Jeez! What can you say. Bushitler is one very good term to define the Chimp! I'd really like to use stronger words here...

Sting wrote, "I hope the Russians love their children, too." Well, I guess the Chimp doesn't care about his own children, bless their little hearts.

[Goldeneye]

4. Hmmmm

Which guy was it that was saying the Sy's paper was "riddled with inaccuracies?"

[3days]

5. That would be the liar behind door number 3

Lawrence DiRita, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in a statement yesterday that many of the facts upon which the story was based were inaccurate. Neither he nor Dan Bartlett, the White House spokesman, commented directly on the commando operations claim, however.

"Mr Hersh's sources feed him with rumour, innuendo, and assertions about meetings that never happened, programmes that do not exist, and statements by officials that were never made," Mr DiRita said.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/229fdd8a-68f6-11d9-9183-00000e2511c8.html

[LynnTheDem]

36. Oooooh...DiRita calling HERSH a liar! BAD idea!

Very bad idea! Hersh isn't the friendly forgiving type.

[alexisfree]

6. Let the War Games begin! Lets go liberate the irananians,

then the syrianians, then the egyptians. While we are at it we will free the Chinese..When will people wake up and realize the lunatic has got to go.

[Just Me]

7. Gawd,...this is going to be such a trip.

I want off this titanic, right now!!

[rodeodance]

me too!!!!

[Gloria]

8. Meanwhile, ...Iran Confident after Key UN Nuclear Inspection

Europe and the UN carry on....

1//Khaleej Times, UAE 16 January 2005

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/January/middleeast_January420.xml§ion=middleeast


IRAN CONFIDENT AFTER KEY UN NUCLEAR INSPECTION

TEHERAN (AFP) - Iran said on Sunday it was confident that UN inspectors would disprove US allegations that it is conducting secret nuclear weapons work, and said its negotiations with the Europeans on the issue were “on a good track”.

A team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the previously off-limits Iranian military site of Parchin, near Teheran, on Thursday.

“They visited, they took some samples from the open area and they returned home. We know what the results are because we have no illegal activity,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

“After they study the results they can confirm our position,” he added.

The spokesman also told reporters that talks with the European Union on finding a long-term solution to international worries over Iran’s nuclear drive were going well.

“The Iran-EU negotiations are continuing and are on a good track,” he said.


(SNIP)

The Europeans are pushing for Iran to accept a long-term suspension of its work on the nuclear fuel cycle, including the enrichment of uranium, to ease international alarm.

In return, Europe’s three major powers are offering Iran civilian nuclear technology, including access to nuclear fuel, increased trade and help with Teheran’s regional security concerns.

Asefi said political negotitations with the EU would begin in March but he also said Iran did not want to see the United States also join the negotiating process.

“We don’t feel that there is a need for the US to take part in these talks. There is a precondition needed for this, which goes back to the US attitude,” the spokesman said.

“There is no need for face to face negotiations. One should only enter negotiations when you know there will be a result.”

(MORE)

m

[3days]

16. The IAEA doesn't mean shit to chimp

As was made clear in Iraq

[yinkaafrica]

66. When does the invasion begin?

I think this invasion is pretty much a given.
Question is, will he nuke Syria at the same time, or wait?

[Gloria]

9. Ken Pollack on with Buchanan on MSNBC saying attack on

Iran "hasn't gotten very far"..."hasn't gotten traction" but acknowledges it's being pushed.

Now, why don't I believe him????

[uppityperson]

10. awww f* n/t

[Massacure]

11. Britain France Germany and China have too much at stake

They'll get royally pissed off if the U.S. blows it all their investment up.

[BattyDem]

14. They'll join forces and attack the US

The rest of the world isn't going to put up with this bullshit much longer. Hey America ... bend over and kiss your ass goodbye ... we're going down!
:scared: :cry: :nuke:

[Mike Niendorff]

17. In case anybody's wondering why the Bushies want "NMD" so bad ...

... well, I think this is why.


MDN

[Oversea Visitor]

25. There is absolutely nothing we can do

but to watch this being play out.
The first line of defence again this insanity is the US citizens, if the silent majority get lead like sheep to the slaughter it will come true.

The world can only react when the deed it done, oh yeah the UN will have its say just like it did on Iraq. Only this time round I think UN will be playing hardball.

So you ass of a spineless idoits of elected representatives better get your moronic chimp of a prez under control before the rest of the world have to do it for you. History will be written on your deed either one way or another. So go on test the will of the entire world against the US. Mighty as US might be the world will just crush the US. Want to bet who will win this World War you idiots.

[snippy]

50. Someday the rest of the world will invoke the Bush Doctrine against the US

[Chipper Chat]

58. Do you think the Bushies have contingency plans...

to escape the country and settle in Brazil if the US folds?

[ckramer]

12. Four more wars - proceeds as planned

[havocmom]

13. The junta us just begging for some small cell to detonate some bad ass

device here, aren't they? They seem hell bent on pissing others off and upping the danger to us and the rest of the world.

What the percentage of cargo containers coming into the US uninspected? Is it still hovering between 80-95%? Seems a better idea to expend manpower and re$ource$ on fixing that little gap in Homeland Security before we go off making more orphans in far away nations who will grow up with every reason to hate us.

[durablend]

19. You got it...It's BRING IT ON time

All over again.

Flip

Flop

[Just Me]

23. Whatever it takes to get their freakin' global conflict!

I have never dreaded the future, never dreamed I could so dread the future as I do this day.

Our poor children.

[belab13]

15. Deja Vu all over again.

[ilovenicepeople]

74. 911 all over again.

Same as it ever was.

[Erika]

18. Our Military can't handle more

unless Bush scares the public into a draft. Who knows, he got away with the WMD travesty, and many enlisted.

[Gloria]

21. But our Air Force is is in fine shape, according to Wes Clark...

You can bet any attack on Iran will be from the air.

[snippy]

51. I agree. n/t

[judy]

20. Didn't y'all know this was the case

when you read that they totally denied everything Seymour Hersch said in his article?

Whenever they deny anything, you know it's true (such as "I don't have any plans for war against Iraq on my desk")

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. 1.2., 3, 4

what are you fighting for?

I don't care

I don't give a damn

Next stop, TEHRAN.

::rolls eyes::

But we knew this... PNAC phase TWO

[Just Me]

26. I still keep hoping they'll be diverted or blocked or stopped.

But, they're just going to forge forward and drag us and the rest of the world into a gawd-awful violent bloody mess.

[yinkaafrica]

67. I think this train is bound for hell

Those countries who could stop us
will sit back and watch us crash and burn.
Anyone interested in our downfall will aid our enemies
covertly. Even if we catch Russia or China supplying
Iraq or Iran or Syria we will do nothing about it.

[candy331]

24. "Bring It on" seems the sooner the imperial world power is

brought down the better the world will be/no world at all. I suppose all this may be inevitable and no one can stop it, time will tell the story.

[agincourt]

27. Always that same shit

We don't want war, we want to avoid war, but if they won't disarm weapons that they don't have.....well, hee, hee, hee.

[LynnTheDem]

38. Hitler always chanted that same mantra.

He never wanted war, wanted peace,w ar forced upon him blah blah blah. That's a standard of a fascist regime.

[umtalal]

28. Bush can stuff it. The bluffing baboon ( no insult to baboons intended)

[reprobate]

31. What bluff? Did he bluff about Iraq? The man's insane.

[lovuian]

29. The Mideast is going to be a Mess

:nuke:

[Elminster]

30. Great....

First we invade Iraq and piss off the 23 million that live there and
now they want to piss off 66 MILLION Iranians. From the frying pan
straight into the fire.
Methinks if Brains were dynimite that the entire Shrub White House
couldn't blow a fart out of a gnats ass.
Fu*king morons.

[jayctravis]

32. Well, Iran,

the answer to "do you have weapons of mass destruction?" apparently needs to be "yes".

Iraq said "no" and look where it got them.

[wildwww2]

33. Of course Bu$h won`t rule out action against Iran . He`ll masterbate while

dropping bombs on yet another country that did not harm us in any way. And my psuedo Christian family members will just say "Well they deserved it" But neither them or the usurper will give an honest reason. Why they deserved it. Because they are not honest people. Just sick murderers of brown people. In my opinion.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[rainbow4321]

34. (Bush's) Mom & Pop War Profiteering Team

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00107.htm


The Defense Policy Board (DPB) is a hand-picked group of 30 people that advises Bush administration officials on matters such as whether and when to go to war, or not. The current group was selected by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Douglas Feith, and approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Everyone who is anyone in the arms and defense industry knows that palling up to DPB members is the ticket to getting a Pentagon contract.

<snip>

Shortly after the war in Iraq began, the April 10, 2003 New York Times pointed out that several board members stood to benefit financially from the war. It reported that the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) documented that 9 of the members were "linked to companies that have won more than $76 billion in defense contracts in 2001 and 2002."

<snip>

One of the members mentioned who stood to profit was R. James Woolsey. In addition to being a member of the DPB, Woolsey also sits on Navy and CIA advisory boards; and he is also a founding member of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI), a private group that was specifically set up by Bush in 2002, to find ways to increase public support for a war against Iraq.

<snip>

Let me say right here and now that I think bold lines are crossed when people like Woolsey, who promote a specific war, financially benefit from their successful promotion. There should be a law that requires a standard recusal from all war profits by any policy advisor who advocates sending our young men and women off to die in that same war. And I don't know about anybody else, but I've never heard of our government forming a group of promoters to rally support for a war before. I dare anyone to try and convince me that this war profiteering scheme wasn't well planned and managed from the get-go.

[LynnTheDem]

35. LOL!!! Hey bush...GOOD LUCK!

And to the freepofascists when their asses are drafted to die for bush's lies, GOOD LUCK to you, too. Are you ever gonna need it, especially with the lack of body armor, rifles, bullets etc.

But hey, HAVE FUN!

[cal04]

37. Iran's response:Futile espionage/US 'won't dare attack Iran'

None of these statements will either embarrass or frighten the Iranian nation. The U.S. and its allies have used all their espionage tricks to obtain information about Iran but have never succeeded and will never succeed in discovering Iran’s real military might.

It seems that the inability of the U.S. and Israel to glean information about Iran’s strategic military capabilities is an endless process. Therefore, the new claim, which is part of the White House’s psychological operations against Tehran and which has also not been completely rejected, can only be interpreted as a ridiculous bluff meant to deflect attention from the U.S. failure in regard to Iran.

Today, the Islamic Republic has acquired massive military might, the dimensions of which still remain unknown, and is prepared to attack any intruder with a fearsome rain of fire and death.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=1/18/2005&Cat=2&Num=010

US 'won't dare attack Iran'
The United States would not dare attack Iran, Iranian defence minister Ali Shamkhani was quoted on Monday by the internet service of state-television network IRIB. Neither the US not the Zionist regime (Israel) dare to attack Iran," Shamkhani said. The ministers remarks came following a report by the New Yorker magazine that the US military is running covert missions inside Iran in preparation for possible strikes against weapons of mass destruction.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1648393,00.html

[Indie Media Magazine]

40. The Sunburn - Iran's Awesome Nuclear Anti-Ship Missile

The Weapon That Could Defeat The US In The Gulf
By Mark Gaffney
11-2-4

A word to the reader: The following paper is so shocking that, after preparing the initial draft, I didn't want to believe it myself, and resolved to disprove it with more research. However, I only succeeded in turning up more evidence in support of my thesis. And I repeated this cycle of discovery and denial several more times before finally deciding to go with the article.

The Sunburn - Iran's Awesome Nuclear Anti-Ship Missile

[leftchick]

56. pretty fucking scary....

and * is just insane enough to make them use it...

~snip~

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the old military establishment fell upon hard times. But in the late1990s Moscow awakened to the under-utilized potential of its missile technology to generate desperately needed foreign exchange. A decision was made to resuscitate selected programs, and, very soon, Russian missile technology became a hot export commodity. Today, Russian missiles are a growth industry generating much-needed cash for Russia, with many billions in combined sales to India, China, Viet Nam, Cuba, and also Iran. In the near future this dissemination of advanced technology is likely to present serious challenges to the US. Some have even warned that the US Navy's largest ships, the massive carriers, have now become floating death traps, and should for this reason be mothballed.

The Sunburn missile has never seen use in combat, to my knowledge, which probably explains why its fearsome capabilities are not more widely recognized. Other cruise missiles have been used, of course, on several occasions, and with devastating results. During the Falklands War, French-made Exocet missiles, fired from Argentine fighters, sunk the HMS Sheffield and another ship. And, in 1987, during the Iran-Iraq war, the USS Stark was nearly cut in half by a pair of Exocets while on patrol in the Persian Gulf. On that occasion US Aegis radar picked up the incoming Iraqi fighter (a French-made Mirage), and tracked its approach to within 50 miles. The radar also "saw" the Iraqi plane turn about and return to its base. But radar never detected the pilot launch his weapons. The sea-skimming Exocets came smoking in under radar and were only sighted by human eyes moments before they ripped into the Stark, crippling the ship and killing 37 US sailors.

The 1987 surprise attack on the Stark exemplifies the dangers posed by anti-ship cruise missiles. And the dangers are much more serious in the case of the Sunburn, whose specs leave the sub-sonic Exocet in the dust. Not only is the Sunburn much larger and faster, it has far greater range and a superior guidance system. Those who have witnessed its performance trials invariably come away stunned. According to one report, when the Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani visited Moscow in October 2001 he requested a test firing of the Sunburn, which the Russians were only too happy to arrange. So impressed was Ali Shamkhani that he placed an order for an undisclosed number of the missiles.

The Sunburn can deliver a 200-kiloton nuclear payload, or: a 750-pound conventional warhead, within a range of 100 miles, more than twice the range of the Exocet. The Sunburn combines a Mach 2.1 speed (two times the speed of sound) with a flight pattern that hugs the deck and includes "violent end maneuvers" to elude enemy defenses. The missile was specifically designed to defeat the US Aegis radar defense system. Should a US Navy Phalanx point defense somehow manage to detect an incoming Sunburn missile, the system has only seconds to calculate a fire solution not enough time to take out the intruding missile. The US Phalanx defense employs a six-barreled gun that fires 3,000 depleted-uranium rounds a minute, but the gun must have precise coordinates to destroy an intruder "just in time."

[porkrind]

75. Scary! A Phalanx cannon can't take it out?

I've seen a Phalanx demonstration, an I must say, it's pretty impressive. The Sunburn must be pretty fast and agile to evade an Aegis cruiser. Do we have any Sailors here that can shed some experience on this? This is scary.

[mutus_frutex]

41. The questrion is: Can they get away with it??

Although I wouldn't rule anything out (since they have shown that they don't give a shit about anything), I think with Iran things would ve quite different:
1) Several european countries have a lot invested in Iran. Considerably more than in Irak.
2) Those countries have been proactive with respect to Iran.
3) The whole Irak precedent its against this administration.
4) It would look too much like they are doing Israel's business.
5) The iranians are much better setup than the irakies were.
6) They would get a VERY large number of muslims pissed off, even more than with Irak.

Anyway, if they attacked I think the international community would join in they effort to confront the US, instead of letting it pass like with Irak.

[Erika]

42. Bush can go ----- himself again

But he still won't have the troops.

[flaminbats]

43. so there is an exit strategy..

attack Iran, then move out the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[Erika]

44. But Americans are not

falling for his death plan recruitment.

[flaminbats]

45. what if Nixon had invaded North Vietnam and Cambodia..

wouldn't that mean pulling out troops in South Vietnam to occupy North Vietnam?

Many American's thought Carter should of attacked Iran..now we have our chance!! :bounce:

[Divine Discontent]

46. duh fuhrer has spoken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[bejammin075]

47. Iqaqi Death Math

As horrified as I am about the deaths to innocents in Iraq, I just succeeded in horrifying myself a little bit more. Estimated Iraqi deaths: 100,000 (as of October, 2004). Lets say that figure is higher now, especially after the leveling of Faluja. Let's say 115,000. Population of Iraq: 23,000,000. Divide 23 million by 115,000 and you get a nice neat number of 1 in 200 Iraqi's have died, or 0.5%. How many people do you think the average Iraqi knows? If the average Iraqi knows a few hundred people, then almost every Iraqi personally knows someone killed in the conflict so far. Add 1 or 2 more degrees of separation, and each and every Iraqi knows of many killed so far. If that doesn't create/inflame an insurgency, nothing will.

[Demrock6]

48. How can anybody give Shrub* any creditability anymore.

He just confirmed what we knew for months. Iraq had no weapons, no 9-11 ties, ect. Now he is gearing toward Iran, and some neo-con assholes are going to go along with how it is a good idea.

[JTorres138]

49. ANOTHER FLIP-FLOP

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5874792/


"Despite U.S. allegations that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, the administration is not considering a military option against Tehran because diplomacy has just started, President Bush told NBC News in an interview aired Tuesday on the 'Today' show."

[4_TN_TITANS]

52. After reading that post

about the Sunburn nuc(u)lar anti-ship missles, we're fucked if we try to tangle with Iran... Iran would be an entirely different monster than a sanction weakened Iraq. God help us if the Chimp picks a fight with them. :grr:

[Beetwasher]

53. Bush Is Esentially Asking For Terrorists To Nuke the US First

I'm not kidding. It's what they want. It would give Bush the excuse he needs to start nuking anyone he wants.

[toymachines]

54. well thats good

so bush is going to be giving a country with garunteed wmd/nuclear power an ultimatum eh. well bush this time they actually have the weapons, they will use them, and they sure as hell are expecting you. Thats definetly what we need.

[dansolo]

55. "Nukes"???

The word "nukes" implies that Iran already has nuclear weapons. The reality is that Iran has a nuclear program, which may or may not be used in development of nuclear weapons. But the headline of the article is intentionally misleading, just like all of the runup to the Iraq invasion.

[gorgan]

57. insanity

attacking Iran would be an act of monumental folly. They have 3 times the population of Iraq. Unlike Iraq, they have a semblence of a democratic process. The current leadership might be lunatic fringe radical fundamental religious nutjobs, but they do enjoy some measure of support from their populace. Attacking Iran would be akin to attacking the US to free it of the Bush regime.

[GCP]

59. Isn't it time for Poppy to perform regicide

Can't find the latin word for murder of a son, but regicide fits the bill just as nicely.

:grr:

[daleo]

69. Chimpicide is the proper term in this case, I believe. n/t

[joytomme]

60. Attacks on Iran

One thing you can bet on and win...whatever comes out of the White House as the official stance on anything is a lie. The Bush administration has absolutely no plans for using diplomacy in any part of the world at any time for any reason.

Please read Sy Hersh's article, "The Coming Wars", appearing in The New Yorker double-issue for January 24 and 31. It can be downloaded today.

Congress has allowed the BushMen to strip the government of any oversight powers on the Pentagon. Rumsfeld now has the power to preemptively attack any country with no advice, guidance or consent from Congress or the American people. And currently, according to Hersh, 10 countries have been under covert surveillance and targeted for missile attacks. There are no checks and balances to oversee what Rumsfeld does. He has total power and a blank check to mount his attacks.

In my Ratfuck Diary this morning, I liken the Bush administration to the Third Reich. I think it's apt.

Can we stand by and allow fascists to take over the United States? Have we forgotten, "NEVER AGAIN"?

Joy Tomme
Ratfuck Diary (http://ratfuckdiary.blogspot.com)

[Megahurtz]

64. Diplomatically? I don't believe it.

Since der fuher has only four more years to act he's going to act quickly.

I'm not sure if the draft will be ruled out at this rate.:scared:

[fryguy]

68. how many more wars are we going to let * "lead" us into?

enough of his working through his solider fantasies....give him a GI Joe or box of plastic army men and stop letting him get real people killed for his jollies!

[sakabatou]

70. :: plays the March of the Empire ::

[ktowntennesseedem]

71. Here we go -- bring on the draft!!!

[Lizzie Borden]

72. "Never, never, never believe that any war will be smooth...

and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and the hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yeilds to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforseeable and uncontrollable events." Winston Churchill

[LevelB]

73. Draft?

I saw a lot of replies in this thread about a draft - when, how, they would not dare, etc.

My personal theory is that a draft will be (reluctantly :eyes:) started within 30 days of the next Al-Qaeda attack on US soil.

Osama is definitely the other partner in this dance of death.

B.