Why Bush is considering NUKING Iran:

[berni_mccoy]

There is no way we have the resources to mount a conventional war.

Iran has 2 million ACTIVE DUTY soldiers, a fully equipped army, navy and air-force (all with maintained early 90's Soviet Equipment/Weapons, including Tanks, Helicopters, Figher Jets, Bombers, Cruisers/Destroyers/Battleships and Subs). They have 15 million able bodied reservists, all who have served at least 2 years of active duty and many who have served 4. They have missles that can reach Israel and Europe and would destroy most of our Navy that is in the gulf not to mention launch a full-out invasion of several million troops into Iraq. The Pentagon KNOWS that conventional warefare in Iran is SUICIDE... the only option is bombing/nuking.

Besides that, Russia and China (the primary consumer of Iranian oil) have been holding joint military operations. I wonder why...

The only reason why Bush wants to attack Iran is to drive the price of oil up and create 100's of BILLIONS in profits for the oil companies. Look at the chart in my sig if you don't believe it.

[FloridaPat]

1. I'm beginning to wonder what investments he & his family have.

I'm wonder how many deal with oil.

[walkon]

2. End Times, Baby!

China and Russia with the Muslims vs. U.S. and U.K. with Jews and Christians fought out in the Holy Land - this was the wet dream of every end-tmer I ever met since I was a kid growing up in KKKhristian KKKountry.

[berni_mccoy]

3. I don't believe for 1 second that Bush has any religion...

except for the almighty Dollar. Though he's using the Fundies for political support to get what he wants.... A HIGHER PRICE FOR OIL.

[katty]

25. oil,oil, oil! - caspian pipeline project

[VelmaD]

4. No matter how hard I try...

to be rational...part of my brain just can't rule out what you're saying...that are actually, actively trying to bring about the "end times". *sigh*

[sheelz]

15. If it's for "end times'

Why has he waited?

[catmandu57]

5. For one thing

he's fucking batshit sociopathic fucking crazy. His base the haves and have mores will be taken care of, they have their holes stocked up and will see none of the suffering you and I will.

[tjwash]

18. Oh yes they will.

They will have the suffering piled on them a hundred fold if they survive an apocalypse. Do you think for a second, that any one of them knows how to live as a homeless, poor person right now, much less in a post nuclear wasteland?

I don't think any of those bastards even have the capability to wash their own cars at present, much less start a farm and butcher an animal after their canned goods run out.

If they are lucky they will go out quickly.

[katty]

26. their underground bunkers are at the ready

[sheelz]

6. Could it be an insane idea for access to Caspian Sea?

Look at this map:

[TheBaldyMan]

17. The US was kicked out of Uzbekistan at the urging of Russia

neither China nor Russia are going to be pleased if the USA pushes into this area, and no-one is going to tell me that Bush is thinking of attacking them.

The idea of having the 5 super bases in Iraq was so the US could base all the troops that were in Saudi Arabia in Iraq instead, nobody thought of asking the Arabs what they thought of the idea, result : an almighty screw-up and it looks like the US are going to be kicked out of Iraq anyway.

Welcomed as 'liberators and rose petals scattered on the road' but it looks like we've worn out that welcome about 3 years ago.

[Atman]

7. Oh, I thought you were going to say...

...because he's a delusional megalomaniacle fuckwad puppet-boy.

[berni_mccoy]

8. hehe, no, I think Bush's motivation is simple and consistent: Greed.

[DinahMoeHum]

9. Unh Unh, it's NOT just about the oil. . .it's also about REVENGE.

Revenge for what happened in 1979, when our Iranian pet the Shah was deposed, and then the seizure of the US embassy in November 1979.

Since then, neocons have been vowing, and plotting for REVENGE. They have long memories.
Why do you think they've been talking their Iranian exile cronies all these years? Can't be about the weather - it's all about a fantasy of having the monarchy back in Iran, one which the US can control.

Problem is, the Iranians also have long recent memories going back to 1953; when a CIA-backed coup
deposed their democratically-elected president Mossadegh and put the Shah in power. Since their revolution in 1979 they have vowed "Never Again".

Go Google the words "Michael Ledeen" and "real men want to go to Tehran". I think you'll find the results interesting.

:evilfrown:

[berni_mccoy]

10. I don't discount these types of things, but revenge alone...

does not explain any of it. There have been plenty of past opportunities before where they could have gone into Iran but they didn't. I think now, this is a big push to drive up oil and cash out. Bush has nothing to lose and only money to gain (he's already got power).

And Nukes is the only way they can get it done. They can't go the conventional route with Iran.

[sheelz]

13. "he's already got power"

Seems to me he want more power--both here and abroad.

[sheelz]

16. Sy Hersh agrees with you.

Sy said to Blitzer that Bush wants regime change.

[DS1]

11. and irradiate all that precious black gold?

[berni_mccoy]

12. Bush could care less about their oil...

except that he would like to make it unavailable. He doesn't WANT IT, he wants to drive up the price of OIL GLOBALLY. Disrupting Iran's supply would cause the price of oil to skyrocket, thus giving huge profits to those companies who don't sell or distribute Iranian oil.

[sheelz]

14. Check this out:

Executive Order 13303

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=893159

[berni_mccoy]

20. Yeah, and that was Iraq. He doesn't need Iran's oil to make a fortune

He only needs to prevent it from getting to the Global Market.

The U.S. does not import ANY oil from Iran (that wasn't true of Iraq). By disrupting the global supply, Bush will send the price of oil well over $180/barrel.

[sheelz]

22. He wanted that pipeline in Afghanistan too.

He wants to dominate all the oil by taking all the supply. Therefore, he can set any price he wants. If Bush continues with his insane plan we'll never see oil at $180/barrel. We'll be dead. :grr: :grr:

[berni_mccoy]

23. I know the pipeline you are referring to...

The one they wanted to run from the caspian sea to India for the power plants that Enron built. The usefulness of that pipeline is long dead and besides, it was a Natural Gas pipeline, not oil and it does not need to go through Iran. Unless you are talking about another pipeline I am familiar with, it has not much to do with this particular issue.

One way to control all the oil is to destroy access to the oil you don't control, wouldn't you agree? And that certainly is much more feasible and easier to accomplish than trying to fight a conventional war you can't win.

[sheelz]

24. Unocal Pipeline

Regarding the placement of the Unocal Pipeline, a US Official delivered this ultimatum to the Taliban (via the Pakistani delegation acting as their interlocutors):

"Either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs.

http://www.ringnebula.com/Oil/Timeline.htm

[Deja Q]

19. Bollocks. He will not nuke.

Iran's neighbors wouldn't like radioactivity crossin' the borders, and radiation won't stop at the borders... (pity more corporations won't... it'll greatly hurt the US if we antagonize China or India... kinda hard to be powerful when your source of power has been given to everyone else...)

[berni_mccoy]

21. China would not likely be affected by the radioactive fall-out

And the same would happen if we just bomb their nuclear plants, the primary targets of ANY (conventional or otherwise).

To affect China, you would need several megatons... the Nukes Bush is planning on using range from 0.3Kt to 300Kt. Not big enough to reach China.