posted on May, 22 2012 @ 03:24 PM
Gentlemen,
I am grateful for the comments, some of which are serious, informed, and directly on-topic. I'm learning much more than I expected.
I really wasn't looking for a blame war. Who was worse, or who committed the first sin. That can go on for pages, and has in other threads. All of
that contributes to the current situation I suppose, but what matters is what do the parties believe now. (And for the gentleman asking about the
quote, the Iranian news agency reported on a speech given Sunday by the Iranian Chief of Staff. That doesn't happen without government approval.)
It seems that there is general agreement that Iran is a threat now, or soon will be. One alternative suggested was that Iran is just lying,
pretending to be a threat when they have absolutely nothing. Possible I suppose, but it's hard to believe. Another suggested alternative was that
Iran isn't a threat because their military is in the hands of the powers that be. It's TPTB that's the threat. Well, in that case everyone can go
home because we all know that TPTB control everything and can't be defeated or delayed. Sorry, that's hard for me to accept.
Solutions? Mine were pretty superficial, but I certainly don't think war is the only possibility. The situation should be changed so that Iran does
not want to be a threat or is unable to be a threat. A war would be one way of attempting to remove their ability to be a threat, but certainly not a
first choice.
One writer, in an admirable post, suggests that Iran is targeting their nuclear talk against two enemies, Israel and the Caliphate. He suggests that
the US is strengthening the Caliphate, driving Iran to more and more desperate measures. He further suggests that if Iran is defeated by the
Caliphate and the world, then organized Islam controlling the entire Middle East will result in war.
This thinking raises a counter-intuitive thought. What happens if the US reaches an agreement with Iran, reducing their fear of the rest of the
Middle East? It sounds foolish to me, it would be another reversal of US policy, it would scare the pants off Israel unless very carefully done, and
would raise the overall level of tension in the area. But, hey, we're supposed to think outside the box.
Thanks again for the discussion.
With respect,
Charles1952