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Oh Good! A War With Iran!

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The country that has literally done nothing to hurt us.

Let's be allies with Saudi Arabia, because they're super nice.

I can't wait for my radiation suit. I think I'll look awesome!
 
Elements in the Republican Party have long had a hard on for going to war with Iran. Think the Iraq war but with a larger, richer, better equipped country with a larger and better trained army.

Then there's the morons like Senator Cotton who publicly state that winning a war with Iran would be relatively easy, you know, drop a few bombs kind of stuff. (And this guy's a war veteran who should know better.)

Unless the US is willing to commit trillions upon trillions of dollars, tens upon tens of thousands of American lives, and years and years of fighting, these types of wars are not winnable. Any divisions within Iran that might someday bloom into real opposition will be obliterated once the US attacks. Nothing galvanizes fervent, patriotic nationalism like being attacked by a foreign power, no matter how oppressive the current political regime.
 
Elements in the Republican Party have long had a hard on for going to war with Iran. Think the Iraq war but with a larger, richer, better equipped country with a larger and better trained army.

Then there's the morons like Senator Cotton who publicly state that winning a war with Iran would be relatively easy, you know, drop a few bombs kind of stuff. (And this guy's a war veteran who should know better.)

Unless the US is willing to commit trillions upon trillions of dollars, tens upon tens of thousands of American lives, and years and years of fighting, these types of wars are not winnable. Any divisions within Iran that might someday bloom into real opposition will be obliterated once the US attacks. Nothing galvanizes fervent, patriotic nationalism like being attacked by a foreign power, no matter how oppressive the current political regime.

Not trying to be a smart *** here but don’t a lot of Evangelicals (the Republican base) want more and more American involvement in the Middle East in order to bring the world closer to the rapture?
 
Not trying to be a smart *** here but don’t a lot of Evangelicals (the Republican base) want more and more American involvement in the Middle East in order to bring the world closer to the rapture?
It wouldn't surprise me, the movement is full of unmitigated kooks, but I would suspect even there it's among the fringe and not representative of the mainstream. Could be wrong, though.
 
Honest question:

What does Iran gain by blowing holes in oil tankers?

I'd really like an honest answer because it doesn't make any sense to me that they'd risk being attacked by the U.S. over this. I mean if they are doing it it would have to mean that they WANTED to be attacked by the U.S., wouldn't it? And if that's the case we really need to ask ourselves why Iran wants to provoke us to attack them. It's generally a bad idea to engage in conflict on your adversaries terms.
 
Now the US is saying an Iranian boat fired a missile at an American drone, and missed, prior to the tanker attacks:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/14/politics/us-drone-tracked-iranian-boats/index.html

We know Bolton is a warmonger all the way. Trump has been pissed at him in the past, from what I've read, was not crazy about the Venezuelan debacle for one thing. It sure doesn't help having Bolton so high up in the chain where our foreign policy is concerned. Especially since this has the potential to be the Greater Mideast War.

Michael Klare outlined what could develop out of this hot spot:

"A Third Gulf War would distinguish itself from recent Middle Eastern conflicts by the geographic span of the fighting and the number of major actors that might become involved. In all likelihood, the field of battle would stretch from the shores of the Mediterranean, where Lebanon abuts Israel, to the Strait of Hormuz, where the Persian Gulf empties into the Indian Ocean. Participants could include, on one side, Iran, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and assorted Shia militias in Iraq and Yemen; and, on the other, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). If the fighting in Syria were to get out of hand, Russian forces could even become involved.

All of these forces have been equipping themselves with massive arrays of modern weaponry in recent years, ensuring that any fighting will be intense, bloody, and horrifically destructive. Iran has been acquiring an assortment of modern weapons from Russia and possesses its own substantial arms industry. It, in turn, has been supplying the Assad regime with modern arms and is suspected of shipping an array of missiles and other munitions to Hezbollah. Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have long been major recipients of tens of billions of dollars of sophisticated American weaponry and President Trump has promised to supply them with so much more."(see: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176422/tomgram:_michael_klare,_the_road_to_hell_in_the_middle_east/ )
 
Honest question:

What does Iran gain by blowing holes in oil tankers?

I'd really like an honest answer because it doesn't make any sense to me that they'd risk being attacked by the U.S. over this. I mean if they are doing it it would have to mean that they WANTED to be attacked by the U.S., wouldn't it? And if that's the case we really need to ask ourselves why Iran wants to provoke us to attack them. It's generally a bad idea to engage in conflict on your adversaries terms.
Reduced supply + threats to the supply chain = higher prices. Especially when your spot in that supply chain is shrinking world-wide. I'm not saying I think they did it but to say it was beyond reason is just wrong.
 
Now the US is saying an Iranian boat fired a missile at an American drone, and missed, prior to the tanker attacks:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/14/politics/us-drone-tracked-iranian-boats/index.html

We know Bolton is a warmonger all the way. Trump has been pissed at him in the past, from what I've read, was not crazy about the Venezuelan debacle for one thing. It sure doesn't help having Bolton so high up in the chain where our foreign policy is concerned. Especially since this has the potential to be the Greater Mideast War.

Michael Klare outlined what could develop out of this hot spot:

"A Third Gulf War would distinguish itself from recent Middle Eastern conflicts by the geographic span of the fighting and the number of major actors that might become involved. In all likelihood, the field of battle would stretch from the shores of the Mediterranean, where Lebanon abuts Israel, to the Strait of Hormuz, where the Persian Gulf empties into the Indian Ocean. Participants could include, on one side, Iran, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and assorted Shia militias in Iraq and Yemen; and, on the other, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). If the fighting in Syria were to get out of hand, Russian forces could even become involved.

All of these forces have been equipping themselves with massive arrays of modern weaponry in recent years, ensuring that any fighting will be intense, bloody, and horrifically destructive. Iran has been acquiring an assortment of modern weapons from Russia and possesses its own substantial arms industry. It, in turn, has been supplying the Assad regime with modern arms and is suspected of shipping an array of missiles and other munitions to Hezbollah. Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have long been major recipients of tens of billions of dollars of sophisticated American weaponry and President Trump has promised to supply them with so much more."(see: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176422/tomgram:_michael_klare,_the_road_to_hell_in_the_middle_east/ )

Yikes...
 
Reduced supply + threats to the supply chain = higher prices. Especially when your spot in that supply chain is shrinking world-wide. I'm not saying I think they did it but to say it was beyond reason is just wrong.
But the gains are outweighed by the risks, aren't they?
The only way I can see Iran doing this is if they are perfectly willing to be attacked by the U.S.. If they are inviting an attack I'd think long and hard if I were the U.S. military about why they would do that.
 
But the gains are outweighed by the risks, aren't they?
The only way I can see Iran doing this is if they are perfectly willing to be attacked by the U.S.. If they are inviting an attack I'd think long and hard if I were the U.S. military about why they would do that.

Are you counting Iran as a perfectly rational actor? It is highly possible that they might not be. They have been subsidizing all kinds of killing against American interests, and outside of the sanctions that were lifted under Obama, have faced almost no repercussions. They probably ascribe that to "God's Will."

Here's a question, if Iran IS bombing ships in the Strait what is the proper action to take?
 
Are you counting Iran as a perfectly rational actor? It is highly possible that they might not be. They have been subsidizing all kinds of killing against American interests, and outside of the sanctions that were lifted under Obama, have faced almost no repercussions. They probably ascribe that to "God's Will."

Here's a question, if Iran IS bombing ships in the Strait what is the proper action to take?
The proper action to take is to understand what they hope to gain by giving the U.S. justification for a military strike.

The idea you put forward, that they are irrational and that their religion inclines them to national suicide is incorrect. Try again.
 
The idea you put forward, that they are irrational and that their religion inclines them to national suicide is incorrect. Try again.

You have forgotten they are NOT LIKE US. If they were rational, they would be just like us.

[/sarcasm]
 
Iran’s not stupid. They know that world opinion isn’t on America’s side right now. No one supports regime change other than a few chicken hawks in America and Israel. But world support could change quickly if they do something stupid, like attack cargo ships coming out of the gulf.

Most importantly, hard to see Russia, Iran’s ally, permitting an attack like this. Putin doesn’t want the United States sniffing in his sphere of Influence.

Now the Japanese cargo ship’s owner says that the ship was attacked by something from the air. Could it have been terrorists? Sure maybe. Iran’s government actually ordering this attack/mining of the trading route? Doubt it.

I’m very distrusting of Pompeo’s claim that Iran did this. It’s not just because this regime lies about everything, including trivial matters, like its inauguration size. This story just doesn’t pass the smell test
 
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I'm sure we can trust our commander in chief to handle this situation appropriately.



Or not.
 
But the gains are outweighed by the risks, aren't they?
The only way I can see Iran doing this is if they are perfectly willing to be attacked by the U.S.. If they are inviting an attack I'd think long and hard if I were the U.S. military about why they would do that.
Yeah the risk/reward ratio is probably way off, but it wouldn't be the first time a country like Iran did something insane.
 
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