reply to post by gem_man
Sure, Iran is Trying to kill diplomats! Only an idiot would believe that. Iran may be crazy but certainly NOT stupid. Considering the vast
military assets positioned around them it is HIGHLY unlikely Iran had anything to do with the attacks.
That is a logical way of thinking based upon the rationale that diplomacy is a worthwhile effort.
When you remove that premise, your logical argument holds little water. Their values are not the same as our own.
Further complicating the matter is the possibility that while the attack originated from Iran - the group was operating without an official sanction
by the government (although this doesn't rule out pork&barreling under the table that supplies such groups even if their official standpoint is to
condemn such attacks).
It could even be an attempt by a lesser party to undermine the authority of Hezbollah, itself (perhaps hoping to provoke international involvement to
bring down Hezbollah so that they can seize control).
There are plenty of reasons why Iran would commit the resources to such an attack.
worldnews.msnbc.msn.com...
www.ft.com...
That is how these people do diplomacy. Personally, if they want to communicate via missile... I say we open up with some AGM-84ER SLAMs and UGM-109
TLAMs and get the discussion started. Few things send as universal of a message as your # spontaneously exploding.
Netanyahu goes on to say in the article that Iran is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world.
In all fairness - that's a rather subjective claim.
Seems to me Israel has that distinction when you consider they have killed civilian scientists in Iran and attacked Irans computers with the
Suxtent virus.
Where I'm from, that's called a precision strike. The difference is, really, academic. A precision strike is intended to compromise a particular
asset. Terrorism seeks to create fear and panic in an attempt to raise awareness of the group's cause.
A covert precision strike, when done properly, should leave the attacker ambiguous (though preferably interpreted to be a case of domestic homicide,
sabotage, etc) and the events appear accidental, even. The attacker should never be known, and should never take credit.
Terrorism seeks to leave trademarks, to boast about their successful attacks, etc.
Most likely Israel is trying to create a reason for an attack on Iran. Not by them alone but I suspect they hope to muster support from the US.
They wouldn't need it.
The problem (and Israel knows this), is if they go in shooting things up - they will have to exterminate the entire population. They will never be
able to hold an extended nation-building venture like we attempted in Iraq and Afghanistan - and the population will go absolutely ape-# over having
Jews setting up a new system of government.
Neither action is going to sit well with the other Arab nations - which is going to lead to some problems (understatement).
Meanwhile - Iran wants nuclear weapons because they are convinced it is the only way they will be able to invade without losing ground to the country
they invade (like what happened the past two times they've invaded Israel...)
Of course, Israel could always just bomb Iran even further into the stone age, creating a new generation of fervent terrorist upstarts.
I'll be straight with you. Israel isn't perfect. They are another nation with their own interests and a bad habit of utilizing subterfuge before
having the decency to ask (their allies).
However. Iran will never jive with Western nations. Much of the Arab world won't, either. Even in places like the UAE - the relationship is tense,
at best. They aren't friends so much as business partners.
Compare this to other nations with 'alien' cultures - like South Korea, Japan, and even China. Sure - we have plenty of things to conflict with
China over (more so than with the Japanese and Koreans) - but we are all on a fairly similar page - with the exception of China still getting a hang
on the whole concept of human rights.
But I can walk through their streets without any real threat of being drug into a back alley way and beheaded on the internet. They vote in elections
and oust their leaders for corruption (being the President of Korea pretty much dooms you to suicide or jail - not sure why anyone runs for the
position). They tolerate multiple religious philosophies (not so much in China - but that was the wonderful world of Mao... "Stawrin" - if you
will), too.
Maybe the West has everything wrong... but... what can I say - at least we're in the same chapter of the same book in the same library (on the same
planet).