The US is off-and-on threatening military action against Iran. The US is Israel's main ally. The US has a large portion of its armed forces right next to Iran right now. How can the US's disposition not have everything to do with it?
[i]By the way, if the U.S. was trying to incite the Iraq Shia, then why were they providing support to Hussein in his war against Iran?[/i]
I didn't say it made sense. Neo-cons rarely do. However, those were at different times. The US encouraged a Shia uprising in Southern Iraq once they decided Hussein was no longer useful.
[i]When you say "from the outset" what is your time frame? Because the British and French were causing more instability in the region long before the Americans.[/i]
Well, if that lets the US off the hook, it lets Iran off the hook too, eh? I was just using your words. The point was that there is more than one destabilizing force in the Middle East and the US is the biggest one at the moment (what with that Iraq mess and all).
[i]Again you did not address what i wrote about which has to do with Iran and their threats to the region - particularly Israel. Unless you regard them as legitimate threats.[/i]
Iran is a threat to Israel. Israel is a threat to Iran. Israel isn't exactly a stabilizing force in the Middle East either.
The point of my comment is that a US/Israel war on Iran isn't going to help matters, it will only make things worse (unless wiping all threats to Israel off the map is the goal I guess, although how that is morally suprerior to the 'wipe Israel off the map' crap I don't know). Small varmints, if you will.
But anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers the Bush I era Shia uprising we (the US that is) encouraged at first then abandoned to a reprisal that wiped it out. People seem to forget that.
Not to mention the various times we've led the Kurds in Iraq down the primrose path then screwed them over (or at least stood back while they got screwed over). Small varmints, if you will.
like this like this or like this Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?
I personally do not think the Iran Mullahs are that crazy and did intentionally install Ahmadinajad to counter the rhetoric of opposing countries.
I am concerned about nuclear weapons in the hands of countries that are not totally stable which Iran is not. We can see that in Pakistan right now. If Musharraf's regimes falls some of the options places Europe and the U.S. in grave danger.
Regarding Iran, I think what is happening is lots of saber rattling on all sides which is fine as long as it results in a diplomatic solution as it appears to be in North Korea.
I do not see Israel electing Beten-yahoo anytime soon since the majority of Israelis are tired of war and want to be focused on peaceful coexistence with Palestineans and all other neighbors.
Iran is in much the same situation China was during the cold war until there were diplomatic understandings with most countries and trading agreements were worked out.
In Iraq the neo-cons are out. If you watch closely at what is happening Bush Sr. (the master diplomat) has become Bush Jr.'s top advisor which is why you see a sudden shift toward diplomacy on all fronts. Cheney no longer has the power he once had and he had it all.
This so-called surge plan was actually a way for Bush Jr. to paint his way out of a corner that he painted himself into. In September there will be a major shift in policy even if Bush Sr. has to give his son a "time-out."
I'd say Pakistan is the bigger danger when it comes to unstable realms and nukes, seeing as Pakistan definately has nuclear missiles already.
However, Pakistan is a US ally in the so-called "War on Terror" (or whatever they are caling it today) and it is off the media radar in respect to its nuclear arsenal falling into even more extreme hands than it already is. If I had to pick the most likley spot for a nulcear war, Pakistan Vs. India would be it. Small varmints, if you will.
I always believed from that the neocons brought Bush Jr. to power but made sure Cheney was there to run things. Bush Sr. was never one of those neocons and was kept on the outside until the '06 election disaster. Bush Sr. and his allies like Jim Baker forced their way in and have pushed Cheney aside for all intents and purposes.
Regarding nuclear weapons, I don't see any difference between Pakistan and Iran. They are both highly volatile states with significant internal dissent which is a bad formula for for nuclear weapons.
