IRAN VOWS "SEVERE" RETALIATION IF U.S. ATTACKS, SAYS WASHINGTON WILL "REPENT" (Reuters UK)

[redacted]

Mon May 14, 2007 3:11PM BST
By Diala Saadeh

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday threatened "severe" retaliation if the United States attacked his country, which is locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear programme.

"They realise that if they make such a mistake the retaliation of Iran would be severe and they will repent," Ahmadinejad told a news conference in the United Arab Emirates. He was speaking through an interpreter.

"All people know they cannot strike us. Iran is capable of defending itself. It is a strong country," said Ahmadinejad.

<snip>

Ahmadinejad said Gulf countries should "get rid of" foreign forces, which he blamed for insecurity in the region. "We in the Persian Gulf are faced by difficulties and enemies," he said. "They claim lack of security is the reason for their presence (but) the problem is the intervention of foreign powers."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1473466420070514

[magellan]

1. What's Persian for "Bring it on"?

[Selatius]

2. Only Bush is dumb enough to test the words of Ahmedinejad.

That shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later mentality is likely still strong with Bush.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. "Heckuvajob", george! Nice going, you moran!!11!!

:grr:

[NightWatcher]

4. We cannot allow bush to attack Iran.

If bomb #1 lands in Iran, I quit. I will see you all in DC. I will quit working and drive to DC where I hope to join millions of you on the lawn as we demand the resignation and imprisonment of Bush. I've sat by for far too long, but that will be the last straw.

[Webster Green]

9. I'll be right there with you!

I've had enough of these traitors!

[Big Pappa]

5. OK, THAT ASSHOLE HAS BEEN SAYING THIS FOR MONTHS.

I think Ahmadinejad and Bush are brothers that have been separated. They are both just alike wanting to blow the hell out of each other.

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. And maybe bu$h shouldn't have labeled Iran as part of the "axis of evil". Ya think?

:spank: Maybe that is why Ahmadinejad is so "jumpy"? :shrug: After what bu$h did to Saddam and Iraq, who wouldn't be?

[Big Pappa]

12. I think

Ahmadinejad would be "jumpy" no matter who we had for a president. He strikes me as the paranoid type to begin with. Add to that his "end times" religious fervor and you truly have a nut job.

[Skip Intro]

6. Well, we did just attack and invade a neighboring country.

I can understand a little defensiveness on Iran's part. WTF are we doing right next door to them?

No, I'm not defending anyone here, just saying I can understand it. If I lived in a country someone threatened to attack, who had just attacked my neighbor, I'd want my leader to defend it.

Granted, taunting a madman with a heavy trigger finger probably isn't a sign of the best leadership.

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Lost in translation?

OK, so I'm definitely prepared to believe that Ahmadinejad is as bellicose as Bush. Also, as others have pointed out, given what's going on next door to him, he has reason to be even more edgy than usual.

That said, I do wonder about two things: the translation and the timing.

Who is translating Ahmadinejad's words into the English? His country's own news service or some "helpful" translator on the payroll of the U.S. or British government?

Regarding the timing: Given the mounting scandals, the growing quagmire, and his plummeting poll numbers, Bush desperately needs some sort of major distraction at the moment. I find it curious that Ahmadinejad is so willing to come to his aid.

Back when the Contra death squads (aka "Freedom fighters" or "The moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers") were battling the Sandinistas, I always found it remarkable how Daniel Ortega, who presumably is a smart man, would do something especially stupid, aggressive and threatening (like unloading a new shipment of Soviet fighter jets) just as Congress was about to vote whether to continue Contra funding. "You eeee-diot!" I used to think, "You're playing right into Ronnie Raygun's hands!"

Well, as it turns out, most of the reports of the Sandinistas' curiously timed stepped-up aggression proved to be the Gulf of Tonkin of the Reagan Era: Phony stories designed to browbeat Congress into providing more military aid.

Granted, Ahmadinejad is no Ortega. He would appear to have some loose cannon tendencies. But I can't help wondering whether he really is as reckless and stupid as the stories make him seem.

[redacted]

10. Agreed. Good post. The use of the word "repent" suggests to me that

the story was planted OR the translation is bogus. A good translator would be aware of the idiomatic connotations of the phrase "Repent!" in the American lexicon, especially the Deep South's subdialects. I wouldn't be so sure the Iranian leader actually said that without some verification.

Thanks again for your post.

[Forkboy]

11. I'm betting he is neither reckless or stupid.

And I get the feeling he knows something we don't.

on edit - Your post is excellent.Didn't mean to sound like I was harping on it.

[redacted]

13. .