http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/mailbag/204-snip-
Subject: Iran and the GOP
In 1980, the Iranian hostage crisis greatly aided Ronald Reagan's effort to defeat Jimmy Carter, and when the US hostages were released by Iran at the very moment Reagan was inaugurated President on January 20, 1981, the neocon movement received a boost to overwhelming popularity and a reputation for "competence" and "toughness" in foreign affairs that Democrats have never really overcome. Later, the Iranians were paid back in an apparent quid pro quo by numerous illegal shipments of advanced American weapons that came to be known as the Iran-Contra scandal, an operation widely believed to have been run by then-Vice President George Bush Sr. Now, more than a quarter-century later, Iran is again near the top of our national worry-list, thanks to constant drumbeating by the Bush II administration and by their perfect foil, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Those trying to peer into their crystal balls to foresee what the GOP's October Surprise this election cycle will turn out to be could do worse than to imagine the boost in popularity our dear King George and his GOP minions might receive from the sudden
"solving" of the current Iranian crisis by Iran's agreeing to cease its nuclear program and pulling back from what will by then probably appear to be the edge of war---just in time for the election.
And why shouldn't the Iranians do just that? After all, they've already received a pretty hefty series of favors from Dubya's gang: the toppling of Iran's two greatest regional enemies, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and the subsequent turning of most of Iraq into what, in effect, is a Shia-run Islamic state that will almost certainly ally itself with Iran the moment coalition troops pull out. Throw in a few
shiploads of whatever the ayatollahs want this time, quietly sent to them next year after the dust settles, and I'm guessing the neocons may, once again, find Iran a willing partner for "peace in our time."
William Frey
Zenia, CA
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don't know if I can go along with William's points
what think you all