Secret Bush plan to democratize Teheran Revealed..

[Jackpine Radical]

[Pharaoh]

1. Cheneys idea

But dibya will do it..........

[tx_dem41]

2. If your theory is true...

why didn't he do it in Baghdad?

[Jackpine Radical]

4. a) He's still learning

b) It's not too late.

I imagine that by the time they figured out that the Iraqis weren't throwing rose petals, they had already committed too many troops. Now they'll have to pull out the troops before they can shoot off any radioactive fireworks (not counting DU-cased ammunition).

[punpirate]

5. Most likely because...

... all the Bushies believed their own fairy tale about being greeted as liberators. It wasn't felt to be necessary.

A second point is valid, as well, I think. They wanted to transform the country, to use it as a practical laboratory for complete privatization of government. That would necessitate large numbers of Americans living and working in the country (as happened during the reign of the "coalition" provisional government). That likely could not have occurred if there were significant prospect of liability stemming from radiation exposure (look, for example, at the insurance rates charged contractors for doing business in a conventional war zone).

With no ability or intention of actually invading Iran (virtually everyone in the know says this is neither likely nor possible at this time), and with the major population center being far, far away from the object of interest (the oil fields in the south of Iran), that could change the estimates of war planners.

All that said, I doubt nuclear use is likely without the US first provoking the Iranians to make some attack on "US interests" which might justify a nuclear response. If the Iranians resist the urge to, say, attack US ships off their borders after being attacked in preemptive fashion by the US, I doubt the US would contemplate use of nuclear weapons. The backlash from the rest of the world would be enormous without overwhelming justification. It's one thing to have an established policy for preemptive use of nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country, and quite another to actually implement that policy.

Might the US try to provoke a response from Iran in order to use nuclear weapons (perhaps the question might be more simply phrased, "are these people crazy enough to carry out such a scenario")? Yes, I think they are crazy enough to try. Are they crazy enough to carry out a nuclear attack even if they fail to provoke an Iranian response worthy of such? No, they're smarter than that.

Cheers.

[walldude]

3. Look, It's Pat Buchanans first day as President!

Sorry I stole that one from MST3K

[EST]

6. I thought it was the RNC on the day after Abramoff's

plea bargain is filed and he begins to sing.

[AndyTiedye]

7. But That Would Make All That Nice OIL Radioactive!

[Jackpine Radical]

8. I don't think Teheran is all that close to the major oilfields.

Anyway, so what? You think the Bushies care if the incidence of cancer & birth defects goes up among the refinery workers & car-driving proles of the world? Unless you habitually carry a Geiger counter around when you fill up, how would you ever know?