So he thinks we should give all the land back to the Native Americans? I am not all that excited about being moved back to Leicester. Can I go to Florence instead? How about San Jose, Costa Rica?

Leaving aside the fringe -- and the Repubs, obviously, also have an anti-Israel fringe (like Buchanan) -- the Dems hardly "hate Israel." Among other things, that would make raising votes and money in places like NYC rather difficult.

"nativist" in the US has never meant "native American." We are a collection of happy, civilized, productive white people, mostly from Britain.l

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The problem here is anything I post will be speculation (other than search right wing Israeli boards for partisan affirmation), but two things stand out that differentiate it:

1. Sharon felt burned on Lebanon and choose to focus on other areas, which, gives some explanation for the imperfect intelligence on that front; and

2. Iran is a much bigger threat because it is a life and death threat. Being the only nuclear power on the block gave Israel a much greater security foundation. Having a Shi'a bomb, where thenholders are crazy enough to deliver it, changes the equation. If Israel is prioritising its intelligence and security functions, I would think, and hope that this is at the top. Maybe I am wrong. Again, I don't know at this point that they have to know every site in Iran, if they take out 60-70% of the capacity, perhaps they set the progbram back enough for other forces to moderate Iran.

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Counterbalancing that: Iran is a big country, with much more space to hide things than southern Lebanon. It is further away from Israel, and thus harder to keep a close watch on. It is a closed society. It has an effective, highly paranoid, and relatively sophisticated government, which knows that it needs to hide these facilities as well and as deeply as possible, and which has virtually unlimited financial resources available to do so.

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My understanding from my Radio Free Teheran friends is that there is some sizable internal resistance movements, which funnel out intelligence in a way that was not present in Iraq or amongst the more controlled areas of Hezbollah-land.

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Iraqi insurgents were supposedly giving us intelligence in Iraq, too. Remember Curveball?

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Actually I am missing that reference.

I get the sense that there is more support in Iran for a more open westernized system. It seems as if there may be more opportunity to win the hearts and minds there with iPods and big macs.

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I did. I was saying 5-10 years on this board. Search it if you don't believe me.

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2.

I think I used a sock to say it.

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I think this is right. Iran was under a cruel dictator for years like Iraq, but the Iranians now know an Islamic dictatorship is not an improvement- Iraq may still need to learn this lesson the hard- same with France.

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During the shah's last 15-20 years Iran sent a lot of kids to the US to get educated. Those people went back and are part of a middle class that is amenable to some western liberalization.

We take out the Ayatollahs with bunkerbusters and win the hearts and minds of the bourgeouisises with iPods and big macs.

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the real Penske would have ran with the France lead I gave him. I miss him:(

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Kinder, gentler and more well behaviouralised. Also, I saw how Sidd took down ppnyc over on the fb and I am trying to protect myself.

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you shouldn't fear ppnyc's fate. no one has ever mentioned you as being attractive, plus everyone knows you are chubby and the "running fast" posts are some form of odd denial. you have nothing to fear.:)