Phil > Things are heating up again over Iran. The recent statement made by the new guy running Iran is unbelievably stupid
The way I read it is that Iran is damned if they do and damned if they don't, so they may as well do what suits them and be as provocative as they can be like N. Korea was. I was satisfied that they were not making nuclear weapons but they were accused of doing so, and still are, in the same way Iraq was. And, anyway, who is Israel to complain? Israel has illegal atomic weapons itself and does not comply with the IAEA rules.
So, now we'll see. Iran is telling the US and Israel to put up or shut up. To say a thing like wanting to wipe Israel off the map they must be very confident in themselves. Or else, it's a masterly stroke of brinkmanship because if the US/Israel chickens out they lose face with the whole world.
> All of this does nothing for the Muslim cause except hinder and isolate them in world opinion.
That was, in fact, the intention behind the PNAC, 9/11 and the War against Terrorism when Iran and Syria were included in the Axis of Evil. However, I don't think the Muslims will be isolated in world opinion. How can one and half billion people be isolated? That's a quarter of the world population. Israel has five million people, mostly immigrants. Even with the US on its side and Tony Blair screeching in the background, the demography is completely against Israel -- and Israel knows it better than anyone.
> The wild card is of course Russia and China.
And France. All of which are very happy to to fight a proxy war against the US in Iran. In fact, if they don't, they know, or believe they know, their turn will come later when they are picked off one by one. All very interesting especially now when Bush's prestige, and the enthusiasm of the American people, has not been lower. In fact, I would say this is hardly the time the US would have chosen to make a big war. |
