Wow - US Planning to Hit Iran all over the internet this A>M>

[leftyladyfrommo]

Headlines on Drudge and Common Dreams.

Bush probably started the rumor to scare the Iranians.

This threatening to strike all the "bad" countries in the world is just such bullshit.

[hippiechick]

1. Umm, Iran isn't scared of Bush. And it's probably not just a rumor.

:hi:

[koopie57]

8. I think Bush

invading Iran is more scary for America than it is for Iran. At some point the world will unite to stop this out of control administration. At least that is MHO. I think with the great deal of debt we are in, it wouldn't be hard to bring us down nonviolently.

[still_one]

2. How will that go over with the Shiite theocracy that we just put in Iraq?

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. Probably not very well.

[still_one]

5. I suspect you are right

and unfortunately, I think there will be a lot more pain before the country realizes just how bad a mistake it was to invade Iraq

[pretzel4gore]

4. i doubt the 'Persians' are scared...

they can judge danger better then most (indeed, how in hell does it pass notice that the Iranians could have easily stopped the bush occupation of iraq in '03 by sending saddam aid, or even a marching band, or a soccer team? The answer is that the iranians and russians etc wanted the bush goofs to step into that waspnest-yet noone in US asks why!)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. You are right

why waste time and Persian manpower when an election will bring about a government in Iraq that is Shia dominated? Too bad Bush never studied history, or he'd know something about Cyrus the Great and Xeres, etc, etc.

[zanne]

6. It's another run-up to a war....

The neocons "primed" us for war in Iraq. It didn't come suddenly. The right wing was out there in the media very early on in a pre-emptive "strike" on the left wing, with dire warnings on any vote against war. We have to learn from experience. We may not remember what happened ten years ago, but dammit, this was four years ago! Let's write or call our Dem leaders NOW to vote NO on an invasion in Iran!

[Deja Q]

7. BINGO. There is more fear in word than in action!

There WILL be no conflict.

We all know what it would escalate into.

And like I've said before, they will want to kill us off in a way that won't harm them; in turn resource usage will plummet as will global warming and all them other old-tyme concerns. A new war, one that could lead to nukes, sure as hell won't do that!

Like I've said. Enjoy life while we can. Don't let fear rule you. There's no point. And maybe things will escalade into a real war. I don't know. And why should I let a petty rumor mill turn me crackers? Fuck that shit, man! Fuck it! LIVE. NOT IN FEAR.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

11. So true. And, I continue to keep my (naive?) expectation that there are

honorable and ethical men and women in the DOD, the Pentagon and both legislative houses that will insure this won't happen.

There is no way that our country's citizens (except the gwb-cult 20-25%) will be convinced that starting another war anywhere will benefit us as a country in any way.

And, as you said, I reject fear as a driver for decisions I make every day. MKJ

[countingbluecars]

14. I hope you are right,

yet look at how many accept the government's spying on citizens in the name of preventing terrorism. How hard will it be to convince them that war with Iran is to keep us safe?

[HereSince1628]

9. Rove knows Bush as Commander of American Offenses is his best

public image.

Faced with the reality of having committed multiple violations of law and the Constitution, you can damn well bet they will attempt to change the subject to something they think makes Bush looks good.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. I just hope that Bush doesn't decide that the IWR gives him

the right to invade Iran (or use nukes) without an ok from Congress. But the reckless way this man does things, I wouldn't be surprised.

[HereSince1628]

13. Because of Iran's recent statements against Israel the IWR will

give Bush the cover he needs.

I hardly expect a full-fledged invasion of Iran, but an attack with cruise missles is VERY likely. SANE governments will be paralyzed by the audacity of such an attack. There would be no immediate retaliation against the US by Russia or China.
Rather, such an act would harden those countries belief that America is a huge and growing threat, and we go back in arms races and a colder cold war.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. Wouldn't the best way to take out the threat

that is posed by a crazed US is to pull the plug economically? Wouldn't China cashing in their treasury bonds do the trick?

[HereSince1628]

17. The notes China owns have maturity dates, I'm not sure

China can simply push us to cash them, I don't know anything about their terms.

I do think the argument that the China "owns us" argument is overstated. The notes do not have capital assets backing them up, only the value of the dollar.

If China calls our notes, we would probably pay them back simply by "creating" the money to pay them. Rather like printing money, without the printing press.

Since the Yuan is officially linked to the value of the dollar the resulting worldwide devaluation of the dollar would destroy China's international buying power at a time when it's industrial expansion demands major overseas purchases. The damage to their economy would be at least as bad as it would be to ours. Certainly it would be enough to prevent China from taking that action.

Think about the old saw, If you owe the bank $200K they OWN you. If you owe the bank $200 billion YOU own THEM. It's very much in their interest to keep you afloat. Our relationship to China is much like this.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

19. Thanks for this information

I'm not monetarily oriented myself-I just try to stay out of debt and live within my means, and I don't understand high finance.

But I think I read somewhere that China is trying to loosen its economic ties to the US, and spread its investment around, in anticipation of our economy crashing. I believe they are developing new markets as well, domestically and in other parts of Asia. Have you heard about this?

[HereSince1628]

20. China has agreed to let the yuan float within a 10% range of the dollar

That's not enough to protect them from a major devaluation in the dollar. They are way too heavily invested in us. This strategy has created something of an "Mutual Assured Economic Destruction," that is probably as useful to us as nuclear deterence.

The Chinese certainly need to be diversified, but where can they turn to get away from the US? Korea, Japan, Europe all hold huge amounts of US debt. Investing in them is just investing in the US "once removed."

[allemand]

15. Could this be their plan: to rely on Iran's opposition forces, a blockade

and US air strikes to bring about regime-change in Iran?

As Nathan Guttman wrote in yesterday's Jerusalem Post:

THOUGH SYRIA is considered by the US to be less of a problem than Iran, the international community seems to have much more potential leverage on Teheran than it does on Damascus. Iran is vulnerable to economic sanctions, for one thing. And regime-change in Iran - due to strong internal forces of opposition - is actually a possibility. Furthermore, Iran is seen as the region's most pressing threat right now.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1135696363572&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor and intelligence expert (and neocon) John Loftus also was quite outspoken earlier in the month:

The intelligence expert, who has contacts in the Pentagon, says that the strategy is not for the US to actually invade Iran, but to affect a regime-change. "One of the intelligence agencies, which shall remain nameless, asked me to hold a conference of dissident groups in Iran. We are holding that conference and getting ready for regime-change." (...)

"The aircraft carriers are there to defend the picket-line of ships that will place a blockade on the Straits of Hormuz," Loftus said. "Ninety percent of Iran's economy is based on oil exports – so a blockade of as little as three weeks can cause their economy to collapse, the people to rise up and the mullahs to be overthrown."
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=94732

The conference will be held February 17-20 in Arlington, VA.
http://intelligencesummit.org/

(reposted from LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2013189&mesg_id=2015307 )

[dilligas]

18. It will not be the US

It will be Israel. After all, they have been threatened by the nut job running things over there.

[windbreeze]

21. I thought that was the plan all along...n/t

[Walt Starr]

22. Maybe Bush sees no way out, so he's going to start "Armageddon"

Maybe Bush wants to bring about the end of the world. Whacko Fundie Christians ACTUALLY WANT the world to end.

[Pavulon]

24. I vote rumor mill BS story(nt)

[sandrakae]

23. I woke up to it on Fox this morning.

Nothing like starting the new year with a bang.It sent chills up my spine. We need to impeach Bush and Cheney.

[alfredo]

25. Maybe he has some of those "strategic nuclear weapons" to use on

Iran. He can then claim the mushroom clouds and radiation were because they bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.

[Pavulon]

26. I'm pretty sure

someone would notice a double flash from the smallest weapons we stock.

[alfredo]

27. But would anyone outside those who "hate America" say

anything about it?