However

Iran is not a friend of the US or its allies regardless who is or who is not in charge.  Iran is developing nuclear capabilities.  Iran has missles that can or will be able to reach Isreal and/or most of Europe.  The fact that European countries are concerned about Iran, not just the US, tells us something that should be pretty obvious to most thinking people: a hostile Iran armed with missles with nuclear warheads is not a good thing.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is insane.

A lot of countries and individuals within those countries do not understand the US.  They get impressions about our society and our government from the media and informational outlets like films that some times are the exact opposite of what the reality in the US really is.  So when an Iranian leader or citizen looks at his TV and sees a couple thousand people carrying anti-Bush or anti-war signs around or hear our congressmen threaten President Bush with impeachment if he bombs Iran they might get a false impression that could lead to disastrous consequences for their country.  There should be a footnote at the bottom of each screen that says that these people represent a tiny fraction of the American people or that this congressman is a loony bird.  Remember that the media in most of these countries isn't exactly free.  

In dealing with a country like Iran that has significant groups within it that oppose their leadership, Bush is playing to the audience.  He did the same with Iraq before the war.  The ordinary Iranian probably does not want to have the US level its cities in the name of Islamic purity and will take action against their own government to prevent that from happening.  The Iranian military probably does not to confront US military might because they saw what happened to the 4th or 5th largest army in the world when they did.  These things have to have an influence on internal Iranian politics.  Sanctions are causing financial problems in Iran and the more problems they cause the more unhappy the people will be and the government of Iran will eventually have to take action, hopefully, to act more peacefully.   There is a subtle game being played here.  If Bush keeps pushing, if the Europeans keep pushing, and if internal players keep pushing, maybe the Iranian leadership will change its ways.  It has to a degree in Iraq I believe but we really haven't heard to much about that since the MSM seems to have put a news blackout on Iraqi news because most of it is good.

Bush and Europe, hopefully with Russia and China's help, need to keep up the pressure on the Iranians to end their militaristic and terror supporting ways.  Having anti-war/Bush people running around opposing a war that probably won't happen is not helpful.  Bush was pushing Saddam and the Baathists but Saddam thought that he could get free pass by lying about WMD and playing to (and sometimes paying off) the anti-war crowd in the US and in Europe and look where it got him and his country.  He probably thought that they had more influence than they really do.

Imagine how things would change in the middle east if we could peacefully eliminate or reduce the support terrorist organizations are getting from one of their biggest benefactors (Iraq was one of them while Saddam was in power).   Look how things have changed in Iraq since Iran has reduced or eliminated support of terrorists in Iraq.

The anti-war/Bush people should protest China and Russia's lack of help with dealing with Iran.  That would help our country more than protesting a war that hasn't started.  

Of course when you see anti-war/Bush groups protesting a war that hasn't even started it makes you wonder what is motivating and who is financing these people.   Are some of these people on the Iranian payroll and just acting like anti-war/Bush people?

by Mad Jayhawk (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 399 comments) on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 10:30:11 AM
 

A distinctly different view

"The ordinary Iranian probably does not want to have the US level its cities in the name of Islamic purity and will take action against their own government to prevent that from happening.

Just like the ordinary American will take action against their own government to prevent a war with Iran from happening?

As far as I can see, nobody is doing anything significant in America to prevent a war with Iran, just like they did not do anything significant to stop the war on Iraq, in fact the media are repeating the modus operandi of the run up to the Iraq war.

So do you think that people in these countries, that have this misguided view of America, can actually do anything against entrenched governments, with the propaganda that is daily spewed onto them from both sides, including America.

I remember when I was in the Navy, I was told about the propaganda being fed to the Russian people, and looked at their papers and magazines, and lo and behold, it was true. But I soon realized that the exact same thing was happening in the west too, albeit a little more sophisticated, because, after all, in a democracy, you have to give people the illusion that they are free.

A popular quote from the sixties.

Russian newspapers 'Pravda' and 'Izvetzia' meaning 'truth' and news'.

There is no news in the 'truth' and there is no truth in the 'news'.

I do not know which American newspapers or media that qualify for that 'honour'.

'All the news that is fit to print', or 'fair and balanced' fox news, or the Washington Post?

by ibrahim turner (25 articles, 31 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 177 comments) on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 11:13:47 AM
 

Need to understand Iran

Now the complete world knows about the American Politicians and the American public. they very well understand that Americans like "Mad Jayhawk" are a rare minority. These guys are extraordinarily vocal and have influenced the press and the politicians of Americans. They for the love for Israel are ready to sacrifice American lives and Money. Majority of the Americans are peace loving and don’t want War. Which is being imposed on them by the Zionist. 
They need to visit and Iran or at least study the war they fought with Iraq. http://www.iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php
Once they are attacked they will reply to them as strong as they can and never to submit to the Americans and the Israeli Military. If they will not be able to beat the American army they will surely humiliate it that much. That the American military will surely lose it Super Power status.
Iranian are ready to die but will not forsake the honor. This was seen in Iran-Iraq war. Iraq used chemical weapons against the Iranian. But use of chemical weapons (supplied by the US) did not deter the Iranian’s. They never pleaded to the UN for a cease fire on the contrary it was Saddam’s army which was pleading the world for a cease fire.
The Iranian’s don’t want War. They want to live in peace with the world. After the Islamic revolution they have not initiated an attack on any country. Islam does not allow preemptive wars. But if attacked it does not allow it followers to surrender.
This was the Hero of Karabala, Imam Hussein, Grand Son of Prophet of Islam said “Death is better then Life of Disgrace“

by Shahid Pradhan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Sunday, December 2, 2007 at 6:17:05 AM