The Iranians knew all about US military capabilities; Fallujah was nothing new for them
Even if they did know, seeing it implemented is something else entirely. And I don't they or anyone else did know, because much of the technology and the strategy employed was new, and helped the US to take a city where the enemy was dug in and had booby trapped everything with very few casualties. If they were still fighting with the tactics they used in Hue in 1968, they would have had 500 killed as they did there, not < 50. Perhaps one of the soldiers on the thread can make some more educated comments on this subject.
They also know that the political will to support military action against Iran isn't there.
There's a lot that can be done short of a major invasion, and a newly re-elected President has a certain freedom of action. If you were the Iranian ayatollahs, would you dismiss the possibility of an Osirak-type raid? The noises being leaked lately about the locations of certain processing facilities are certainly meant to imply that the US is thinking about it.
You do realize, I assume, that the Islamic radicals were delighted to see Bush re-elected. They need that hate figure desperately; their whole pitch for power is based on the need to fight the crusader. Radicals need an opposite pole.
No, I don't realize it at all. Hate figures are great, but they've got all the hate figures they need in The Great Satan America. Are you really suggesting they would hate a Kerry administration less? How much do they know of American politics? Are you confusing them with France? But the effect of American arms, the Islamic radicals have noticed that. I think they would have preferred a more ineffectual response in Afghanistan, rhetorical strength combined with another feckless shower of cruise missiles was what they had in mind. Bark with no bite is ideal for them. The radicals definitely would have preferred a Kerry administration in Iraq, because I'm convinced that Kerry would have bailed at the earliest opportunity, which would of course have been a huge triumph for the Islamists.
But now they have Bush. Bush barks - and bites. |
