All Hank, all the time.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Adder
I'll give you a topic:

In the long run, the biggest cost of Bush's fiasco in Iraq may be that it made military option impossible in Iran, a country that actually has a nuclear program.

how so?

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Adder
I'll give you a topic:

In the long run, the biggest cost of Bush's fiasco in Iraq may be that it made military option impossible in Iran, a country that actually has a nuclear program.

Maybe.

Or that it has strengthened Iran by replacing an enemy with an ally.

Or that it has pretty much destroyed US military credibility worldwide. If Bush or Rummy said that we were going to make a preemptive strike at, say, Togo, and it would be over in a few weeks, would you believe it?

Or that it has pissed away so much of our goodwill with governments and populations of countries that are important to fighting the real enemy (y'know, the one Bush tried to link to Iraq).

Everyone is talking about Hezbollah's victory in fighting Israel to a standstill. Haven't al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Mahdi Army done the same thing to the much more powerful US?

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by sgtclub
how so?

No troops.

No ability to form a coalition.

Of course, there is always the option of nuking Tehran and Qum, but somehow I don't think that one is on the table.

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by Adder
I have no idea. But how did she get in the cockpit in the first place? And since she is in there, what about fingernails to the eyes? Shoulnd't we make her check her hands before boarding?

She got in there by squirting astringent in the stewardesses eyes.

Why do you need cleanser on a plane? Forget about the security, it should be a simple contract issue. The airline is agreeing to fly you somewhere contingent on you agreeing not to bring cleanser et al on the plane. If you do, its a breach and what I would I like to see is a remedy whereby they can kick your arse off the plane in midflight. A little ejection tube. That would solve the problem right quick.

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Maybe.

Or that it has strengthened Iran by replacing an enemy with an ally.

I wouldn't call Iraq an ally yet. It's a long haul, and for at least the next 2.5 years, Bush has agreed to secure Iraq. I think it will take longer, but if we stay the course, Iraq will come out a shining light of democracy in the ME.

Originally posted by Sidd Finch


Or that it has pretty much destroyed US military credibility worldwide. If Bush or Rummy said that we were going to make a preemptive strike at, say, Togo, and it would be over in a few weeks, would you believe it?

Or that it has pissed away so much of our goodwill with governments and populations of countries that are important to fighting the real enemy (y'know, the one Bush tried to link to Iraq).

Our allies are feckless. Fuck em. I vote we go it alone or maybe with Great Britian (give that they created a lot of the mess that underlies these conflicts).

Originally posted by Sidd Finch


Everyone is talking about Hezbollah's victory in fighting Israel to a standstill. Haven't al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Mahdi Army done the same thing to the much more powerful US?

Hezbollah didn't fight Israel to a standstill. Teh anti-semitic Israel haters in Weurope and the UN called a timeout. A standstill was Iran-Iraq in the 80s. Hezbollah just proved to be more than a 1 week pushover. SAme with Iraq. If we wanted to "win" we could. It just depends on what the definition of win is.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch

Everyone is talking about Hezbollah's victory in fighting Israel to a standstill. Haven't al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Mahdi Army done the same thing to the much more powerful US?

no. they cannot stop the US from going where it wants and doing what it wants.

All we'd want to do is go into Iran, blow the nuke shit up and then leave. we could do that easily.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch

Or that it has pretty much destroyed US military credibility worldwide. If Bush or Rummy said that we were going to make a preemptive strike at, say, Togo, and it would be over in a few weeks, would you believe it?

Yes - I would believe it. Whether or not we could sustain an occupationn is another story. Both Gulf war I and II showed that are conventional capabilities are light years above anyone elses and we can conquer any country in no time at all. The only issue is how well can we deal with insusrgencies during an occupation.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
No troops.

No ability to form a coalition.

Of course, there is always the option of nuking Tehran and Qum, but somehow I don't think that one is on the table.

Don't need troops if the goal is to stop or hinder the nuclear program.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
no. they cannot stop the US from going where it wants and doing what it wants.

Except for pacifying and stabilizing the country.

And ending the insurgency.

And preventing foreign fighters from coming in.

And winning.

All we'd want to do is go into Iran, blow the nuke shit up and then leave. we could do that easily.

As I said - that's an option, but not one that I expect will be used, or even seriously considered.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Spanky
Yes - I would believe it. Whether or not we could sustain an occupationn is another story. Both Gulf war I and II showed that are conventional capabilities are light years above anyone elses and we can conquer any country in no time at all. The only issue is how well can we deal with insusrgencies during an occupation.

Yes, but that was never the goal in Iraq. Six week occupation, remember? Just long enough to clean up all the candy wrappers and dead flowers.

[Adder]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
No troops.

No ability to form a coalition.

Of course, there is always the option of nuking Tehran and Qum, but somehow I don't think that one is on the table.

And no will to do it.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by sgtclub
Don't need troops if the goal is to stop or hinder the nuclear program.

You can fantasize all you want about nuking Iran but it's something that even the Bush Admin has not discussed (ask Spanky).

And the fact that this is our only military option is part of the damage that the Iraq adventure has caused.

If you mean targetted surgical strikes at the installations, the fact that we don't know where they are could be a hindrance. But maybe Curveball can tell us.

[Adder]

Originally posted by Penske_Account
She got in there by squirting astringent in the stewardesses eyes.

Why do you need cleanser on a plane? Forget about the security, it should be a simple contract issue. The airline is agreeing to fly you somewhere contingent on you agreeing not to bring cleanser et al on the plane. If you do, its a breach and what I would I like to see is a remedy whereby they can kick your arse off the plane in midflight. A little ejection tube. That would solve the problem right quick.

Why do I talk to you?

No one is saying she needed it on the plane. Nor is anyone saying that security did anything wrong (well, except her mother). But that doesn't make this a terrorist incident.

But how would blinding the stewardess get her into the cockpit?

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by Adder
Why do I talk to you?

No one is saying she needed it on the plane. Nor is anyone saying that security did anything wrong (well, except her mother). But that doesn't make this a terrorist incident.

But how would blinding the stewardess get her into the cockpit?

Adder, there's an old expression.

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste if time and it annoys the pig,

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
You can fantasize all you want about nuking Iran but it's something that even the Bush Admin has not discussed (ask Spanky).

And the fact that this is our only military option is part of the damage that the Iraq adventure has caused.

If you mean targetted surgical strikes at the installations, the fact that we don't know where they are could be a hindrance. But maybe Curveball can tell us.

How do you what (surely) classified intelligence says about where they are?