"America the frightened" (Sign O the times)

We are so far from bravery as a country if we keep invading countries. It's the biggest contradiction staring us directly in the face. A nuke, it's a decade away if not more. And this is just gonna make Iran want a nuke even more.

link:
antiwar.com...

"America the frightened" by
Alan Bock

My piece, I thought, amounted to a reasonably nuanced argument against initiating military action, even a bombing campaign against suspected nuclear sites, against Iran. Not only is U.S. intelligence about Iran even less reliable than intelligence on Iraq was prior to the decision to wage war, but a bombing campaign would almost certainly only delay Iran’s acquisition of the capacity to build a nuclear weapon rather than prevent it, and might even reinforce determination to get one eventually. And there would be other repercussions. I noted that if bombs fell Iran would almost certainly ramp up activities against U.S. troops in Iraq, which it could certainly do, and that "Hoover Institution scholar Abbas Milani, who founded the Iran Democracy Project, believes a U.S. attack would cripple the burgeoning democracy movement and unite Iranians in support (at least for a while) of the mullahs." Furthermore Iran could mess with oil shipments through the Persian Gulf and increase support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. Not to mention that such an attack would play like a recruiting poster for al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremists and terrorists. Well! A few readers called or wrote to say they appreciated my measured analysis, but most were almost apoplectic. How could I not see the grave threat that the Iranian regime poses to America and our way of life, and how could I be so shortsighted as not to understand that it was imperative that we take the regime out, preferably with as much force as possible

Does this sound remarkably familiar in the webosphere and ATS?

This tendency toward fear and trembling is often accompanied by an almost childlike faith in the ability of military force to erase any and every threat. All we have to do is bomb them back to the stone age – I’ve heard this phrase at least since the early days of Vietnam – and they’ll stop bothering us – until we discover some other tin pot tyrant who poses yet another threat to our sacred way of life.

Hey now, you're an allstar~

This guy keeps hitting em out the park.

[edit on 18-2-2007 by MRGERBIK]

Curiously, this touching faith in overwhelming military force is often accompanied by a conception of military force that seeks to divorce it from political objectives or any consideration of political consequences at all. Clausewitz famously taught that war is simply politics by other means, implying that it should be undertaken when it is undertaken with political objectives uppermost in leaders’ minds. (He didn’t seem to consider the corollary, that politics is war by other means, but nobody’s perfect.) Yet Americans want war to be apolitical. Many Americans still believe that if the politicians had only unleashed the military and not kept it in check with political considerations that winning the Vietnam war would have been a slam-dunk. We’re already hearing a similar justificatory incantation regarding Iraq – if only the politicians would take the shackles off and let the military operate unencumbered, we’d soon show those insurgents/terrorists/whatever what-for. This is magical thinking.

[edit on 18-2-2007 by MRGERBIK]

mod edit, format

[edit on 18-2-2007 by DontTreadOnMe]

As long as we live in fear of terrorism, terrorism wins. The object of terrorism is to spread fear so even if the never attack inside the united states again they created fear.

Its not the fear of terrorism. Its the want to live without this kind of thing. I am glad that we are taking the fight to the terrorists, at least they arent being given time to orchestrate attacks within the US. They are busy with the US in their backyard.

Originally posted by gray01
As long as we live in fear of terrorism, terrorism wins. The object of terrorism is to spread fear so even if the never attack inside the united states again they created fear.

And this is what some people can't wrap their head around Radicalizing millions and millions in a single swipe because the U.S. has delusions of self entitlement and grandeur. "We know where the terrorists are and we don't need intelligence on the ground. We got this one covered"

Iran is going to have a field day in radicalizing armies upon armies. This battle could become so epic in scope that people will go insane trying to rationalize why we are getting defeated.


If I was Iranian mullah, I'd pray the day that a tactical nuke hits one square of Iran. Because I have a feeling the U.S. isn't even going to know what hit them if they have the gall to do this in the age of the glorious Mahdi. The gate will open and the battle cry will be issued and Revolutionary Guard will pour into Iraq.


And one good thing could come out of this. Immediate trials and arrests for war criminals in this administration who destroyed our country.

Trust me fellow Americans. We don't want it with the Middle East on Long Term. It will make Vietnam look like a protest at Kent University.


The party was over after you ousted Saddam, you should have immediately left and let the Iraqi's take it from there.


Now Iran is without any buffer. You didn't think this one through did you, Bush acolytes? And what will you do with the thousands upon thousands of Veterans returning wounded? Where will we get the funding? Since this administration cut the funding immensely in one of the biggest wars we have had in 3 decades.

A-mazing

Why the Illuminati are winning is because this isn't a game where its the United States attacking Iran. This is a game where someone is telling the united states to attack Iraq. In the latter game the united states survival isn't an objective and thus gives more open targets for the War Hammers to bang to.

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
Its not the fear of terrorism. Its the want to live without this kind of thing. I am glad that we are taking the fight to the terrorists, at least they arent being given time to orchestrate attacks within the US. They are busy with the US in their backyard.

Uh, yeaaaaaaahhh You aren't taking the fight to anyone. And here's the problem I have with your position on this, X Philes. Our Veterans Hospitals are not prepared for the injuries coming in this country if we escalate this conflict. Nor do we have the medical staff to undertake another war. So why puff out your chest IF we aren't damn prepared? That's not protecting crap. That's just a damn bumper sticker


You really think the Terrorists are concerned in Iraq to not plan attacks elsewhere? Oh Xphiles, what a grand world it must be to dwell inside your mind. This makes the middle east more radical. Btt you want to keep pushing.

I can gurantee you this you would lose your mind if you really saw how the "Troops" are treated in hospitals because we underfunded and cut everything to ribbons for tax breaks/contracts for corporate interests.

Tell me,Xphiles. How do you I.D. a terrorist in the Middle East? What would be your evidence someone is a terrorist? The anger in their eye? The Islamic symbols on their clothing and property?


Do you even realize how close to the edge we are? We going to spend over a trillion just in Iraq alone. You want to go for another trillion? We can't afford a decade war. I hope you understand your fantasy is going to have to be cut short .


There's something terribly wrong with this thinking. And we haven't even scratched the surface why it's so distored and warped & void of any rational thought what we are doing.