'Iran ready to wipe Israel off the map'

[JBond]

Things are heating up. I really hope Obama does not screw this one up.

As speculations over a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities grow, the Islamic Republic is exacerbating its rhetoric. Deputy Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Friday warned Israel against mounting such an attack: "Any act by the Zionist regime against Iran will bring about its destruction."

Hezbollah, he added, "Is at the forefront of the fight against Israel and it is growing stronger by the day."

Speaking at a ceremony honoring past Hezbollah commanders, Vahidi said that "Israel is weaker than it has ever been and its army is tired and humiliated… This is why it is trying to solve its problems by talking about taking action against Iran.

"Iran's warriors are ready and willing to wipe Israel off the map," he declared.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...194444,00.html

[JBond]

U.N. sees spike in Iran’s uranium production

Iran dramatically boosted its production of a purer form of nuclear fuel in recent months, with much of the increased output coming from a newly opened plant built inside a mountain bunker, U.N. officials said Friday, further exacerbating worries about Iran’s march toward nuclear-weapons capability.

The finding, in a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, showed a nearly 50 percent jump since the fall in Iran’s stockpile of a kind of highly enriched uranium that is closer to weapons-grade than the type normally used in nuclear power plants.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...3XR_story.html

[Catch88Again]

e In the end...Israel should be able to defend their own nation as we would our own. Of Course, with a fresh war in the Middle East. We can expect to pay more at the pump.

This would be just one result of the war. Is everyone on board with that personal sacrifice?

[JBond]

Regarding the pay more at the pump comment. Who's fault is that? It is a shame the leadership does not want us to be energy independent. The combo of devaluing the dollar in order to manage our debt and our anti energy policy we are getting hosed. Left or right does not matter. All of them working in concert have led us down this dark road holding hands making deals that benefit no one other than themselves.

As far as personal sacrifice...explain that to the family of my friends killed on 9/11. This war is much bigger than just Iran wanting to start another holocaust. The real issue is the left in America has not been willing to win a war since WWII. The police actions we have engaged in around the world have bought some time, but have not addressed the true issue. Untie the hand of the military and allow them to wage war that results in the complete defeat of our enemies. Until we do, this cat and mouse game will continue while our enemies develop WMD"S. Make no mistake. Our enemies will use them.

[Catch88Again]

JBond, I don't disagree with your assertion that BOTH Red and Blue teams (I see politics as just another sport) must share the blame together. However, I don't see that developing our own oil is necessarily the panacea that some may assert. We are still in a global open market. Who's to say that the oil we develop is not simply shipped over to China or another desitination at roughly the current market rate?

A small portion of the country (military men and women and their families) have had to put real skin in the game. The rest of us are affected less directly. (But affected none the less)

I have to admit that when we went to war with Iraq, I thought we should simply demolish them to the ground and then leave. That's what war used to be. But then that would leave more instability in the Middle East (Iran would be able to simply go in and take over) So we had to rebuild them (Good business opportunities for Contractors right??)

War! It's not what it used to be.

[iceberg]

catch -

when gas prices went up during iraq, it was all bad bush.
somehow this time the admin is not to blame.

i really don't care about details, cause the ones doing the blaming on either side don't either. just get mad at people who don't think like you and wait for evolution to step that up a bit over time

evolution has to fix our dependancies also. we won't just abandon oil cause it got expensive. we'll just look for someone to blame in which ever direction pop culture takes it.

fixing it after the fact is a liberal trait, blaming contractors an excuse. the PC generation won't let you do things the old fashioned way.

nothing to do with bush or his policies.

[VTA]

Price gouging is apolitical. The cost of gas on our shores has no reason to rise, regardless of what Iran does and regardless of whether or not we tap into and refine our own.

As for Iran and it's talk, I do hope it's just saber rattling and frankly I hope it does deter our own nation. The time of advantage has passed and short of annihilating a nation of people - which we wouldn't do, chances are we wouldn't take the war. There are people there that I care about and it would cost us much more than we can afford right now.

[JBond]

Catch88, thanks for the response. Most rational humans do not want another war. I hope and pray it is not necessary. With that being said, I am not sure it is avoidable. Trying to sort through the rhetoric of madmen is a difficult task. Iran has presented a nightmare scenario. They have vowed repeatedly to destroy our closest ally in the ME. Russia, China, and to a lesser extent NK are backing them. This is a very dangerous game. I look back to history for solutions. Reagan was especially effective at challenging those that wish us harm. He was very effective at nibbling around the edges challenging them without resorting to direct military conflicts with other super powers.

We cannot allow Iran to posses nuclear weapons. I hope Israel is not forced to act independently. The human toll with will tremendous. With the backing of the US I believe less bloodshed will result. If/when the Iranian facilities are destroyed, all the countries involved will have to think long and hard if they know the might of the US armed forces will be rained down upon them if they make the wrong decision.

If Israel moves without our blessing, backing, and support they will be devastated.

Regarding the oil issue...We must become less dependant on the ME for our energy needs. Green is nice, but in reality it is not a practical solution at this point. We should be tapping every reserve we have at our disposal. The laws of supply and demand still apply. The larger the supply the lower the cost. If we can help ween the rest of the world off of the ME oil, all of us will be better off. We must stop funding those that wish to destroy us.

[Catch88Again]

catch -

when gas prices went up during iraq, it was all bad bush.
somehow this time the admin is not to blame.
.

I think there are people on both sides whom know better, but remain silent when the other the other team is up to bat and is feeling the heat. It's what politics has become. Maybe I was just seeing things through a younger more naieve (sp?) set of eyes but wasn't there a time when there were more people closer to the center than those on the outer rings of both parties.

[Catch88Again]

We cannot allow Iran to posses nuclear weapons. I hope Israel is not forced to act independently. The human toll with will tremendous. With the backing of the US I believe less bloodshed will result. If/when the Iranian facilities are destroyed, all the countries involved will have to think long and hard if they know the might of the US armed forces will be rained down upon them if they make the wrong decision.

If Israel moves without our blessing, backing, and support they will be devastated.

.

I agree a nuclear armed Iran is a destabilizer to the entire region and a specific threat to our strong ally, Israel. That cannot be allowed. That being the case. I can't see Israel not getting the full support of our country whether the current administration is in office or not. I do think that since they are the ones at risk that we need to let them have more of a say whether "we" go for an attack or not. I do think we're wasting our time in Afghanistan. We should police that country with drones not large ground forces. (I personally like the idea of creating bases in the countries that we invade. I think we should have a permanent (more or less) base in Iraq AND Afghanistan!)

I think we should save some stones for the coming conflict with Iran.