what I've been reading/hearing makes me think the neo cons will attack Iran

[donsu]

attacking Iran would certainly change every subject.

would certainly make a new reality.

and the american people and the world would once again be snookered.

sigh.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

1. yes.

they're already awash in innocent blood.

all they have to do is sit in their comfortable chairs . . . and spill some more.

sigh.

[davhill]

2. The Surge In Iraq is Just a Meaningless Gesture

Meant to distract Congress's attention from the real Nuclear war at hand. Israel will launch the first blow with US fighter protection, AWACS, and refueling tankers. Iran will retaliate against US troops and Bush will have the authority to attack Iran under the war powers act. He will not need a declaration of war or even a resolution from congress. If congress cuts off funding it will not take effect for months and by then the entire Middle East will be in flames.

[aquart]

3. Uh huh. With what, dear? Iran has SEVENTY-ONE MILLION PEOPLE.

We don't have the 21,000 soldiers we're reportedly sending to Baghdad. That's a bunch of fluffed numbers eked out with, god help us, Kurdish pesh merga soldiers who don't speak arabic and have no trouble killing Sunni and Shia equally. Not to mention that the Kurds have ever so many reasons to enjoy a chance for free revenge.

Now, I'm perfectly sure that the neocons (is that the boogyman under your bed?) would LIKE to attack Iran. Really. I am. But they have NO army. NO allies. NO money.

Other than that, no sweat.

[Tom Rinaldo]

6. They have an Air Force (at their disposal)

War plans center on an air attack supported by small numbers of special forces on the ground. Iraq never had an Air Force to speak of, so the U.S. Air Force is the only branch of our military still in pretty good shape Actually our Navy Aircraft Carriers haven't been effected by the Iraq war much either. They are like Chess pieces that keep getting rearranged on the board, but they don't get depleted by the war in Iraq, they just move to that neighborhood. The same neighborhood Iran is in.

The neocons have all the bombs they need to get us into this hot water. They even have tactical nuclear bunker busters. We haven't used up any of those in Iraq yet.

[donsu]

10. and just think, our fighter pilots haven't had a chance to have an actual

dog fight with other fighter pilots, to prove their prowess. now they will.

mucho macho time

[aquart]

15. Are you aware that we've been using our air support personnel

As ground patrol troops in Iraq?

Are you that sure we still have an intact air force?

[nealmhughes]

9. I agree totally, Iran is almost the size of a quarter of the contiguous Continental US also!

About one quarter of the US population!

But I think the older Kurds do at least read and write Arabic, as education in the Baathist Iraq was centralized, sort of like in France, to make a state into a nation state, one needs a common language and military conscription helps in that endeavor.

Technical education, etc., I'm not sure about, but I would guess that English and Arabic are the choices in higher ed in Kurdistan these days still, simply not enough Kurdish texts to go around.

However, I am sure that they speak Kurdish on the street and at home!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

14. Don't forget the rugged terrain!

It's not just one big desert like Iraq. Mountainous areas are not nice to fight in.

[Unperson]

12. They will probably carpet bomb the place into the stone age.

No ground troops until the aftermath. To take control of the oil fields. Install puppet regime in Tehran leave small contingent to guard oil.

[aquart]

16. You really have no idea how many bombs that would take.

Or how much a bomb costs.

So how many are we ready to kill? Ten million? Twenty million? You would be shocked to know how many people can survive in rubble...how many very angry people.

Where has carpet bombing proved effective? Anywhere? It destroys vital infrastructure. That ends up being really not useful.

[donsu]

4. people say we haven't enough troops to attack Iran - they won't use troops

they will destroy Iran with bombs and missels.

destroying ports (water and air), bridges, communications, finance centers, etc. - much like Israel did to Lebanon.

[aquart]

17. You are deluded if you think Lebanon is destroyed.

And comparing Lebanon, whose problem is that its government is weaker than its militant parasite, Hezbullah, with Iran, is beyond delusional.

Spend the money. Buy a map.

[Warpy]

5. Snookered? I wish!

The invasion of Iran is going to lead to some pretty nasty stuff.

Invading one country might be bad judgment. Invading two countries is the beginning of a dangerously bad habit. Invading a third country is proof that a rogue nation has to be reined in, first by economic sanctions (and how much do we really make here, now?) and then by war.

We won't win the next big war, you know. We lack the industrial capacity to survive it, let alone win it.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

7. you're right.

I used to work in a district of machine shops and foundries here in KC. There were hundreds of small to middle-size companies. I can count the remaining ones on both hands. We have no industrial base.

China is about to eat our lunch. Thank you, repuke corporations. So much for unregulated capitalism, with no tariffs.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

11. China is probably LOVING it, because so far they can continue their economic

development without squandering hundreds of billions in a war.

Their leadership probably buys a round of beers and laughs maniacally every time they hear about something like "the surge".

[aquart]

18. Exactly.

And when we are completely ruined, an alliance of China/Russia, China/India, Russia/Europe or all of the above walk in as saviors, not of us, but of the poor suffering peoples of the MidEast.

Meanwhile, we won't have a dime to fight the famine and drought of global warming when it destroys our wheat belt and coastal cities. Because, you know, terrorism is the real enemy.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Attack? Heaven forbid! It will be for our "defense" doncha' know.

Probably due to Iran reacting to the multitude of provocations thrown at them by Der Fightin' Fuhrer from Crawford. Or, if that doesn't happen soon enough, one of the alphabet soup "intelligence" outfits will cook up some dandy charts and graphs showing how endangered we are.

That will be followed by dazzling videos of smart bombs and grinning "heroes" emerging from their cockpits on the flight deck and Boobya telling us (surrounded by flags and lackey generals) how necessary it all is and how well it's going.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

13. Do you think they still have the "Mission Accomplished" banner lying around?