Slam Dunk: The Bush Administration Is Trying to Provoke Iran by Robert Naiman The Bush Administration is once again escalating its confrontation with Iran. Clearly they have multiple motivations for doing so. They’re trying to “change the channel†from the failure of the “surge,†ahead of the September Congressional debate on Iraq. They would dearly love to split off from the Democratic opposition on Iraq Members of Congress who share the AIPAC goal of confronting Iran. And they want to undermine negotiations taking place between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency over Iran’s nuclear program. But details have emerged from the recent escalation that strongly indicate what many have long suspected: the Bush Administration’s fundamental conflict with Iran is not about its nuclear program or alleged weapons smuggling - so far unproven - into Iraq. It’s simply a great-power struggle for influence. And while there’s nothing too shocking about that, people in the United States should ask themselves - and be asked by others - what sacrifices we are really willing to bear so that the Bush Administration can try to keep Iran from having the influence in Iraq that they would normally have - and almost certainly will have - if there is a democratic government in Iraq, given that 60% of the Iraqi population is Shiite and has strong cultural and religious ties to their co-religionists in Iran. How many U.S. soldiers’ lives is that goal worth? How many billions of U.S. tax dollars? On Wednesday, the New York Times reported: Members of an Iranian Energy Ministry delegation were arrested and held overnight by American troops in Baghdad for having unauthorized weapons, before being released this morning, American and Iraqi officials said in Baghdad. Iranian officials protested the detentions today. The group had been invited to Baghdad to help resolve Iraq’s electricity crisis, Iraqi and Iranian officials said. A media adviser to the Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq told Reuters news agency that the group was in Baghdad at the invitation of Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity to help build a power station in the Shiite city of Najaf.Why were these Iranians arrested by U.S. troops if, according to Iraqi officials, they were part of an Energy Ministry delegation invited to Baghdad to “help resolve Iraq’s electricity crisis� That Iraq has a serious electricity crisis is well known. Surely such assistance should be welcomed. There must have been some mistake. Not so, apparently, The Times reports. A manager at the hotel where the Iranians were staying said: “I told [the US soldiers] that the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity had invited them, that they were guests of the ministry and that we had a letter from the ministry confirming this.†So, prior to the Iranians’ arrest, U.S. soldiers were aware that the hotel where the Iranians were staying had proof that the Iranians were in Iraq at the invitation of Iraq’s Energy Ministry. What was the point of arresting these officials? Surely the U.S. forces could have anticipated that they would be compelled politically to quickly release them, since, as they knew, these officials were in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government. There is a strong whiff of harassment and provocation about this. Here is something very simple Congress could do to indicate that they are serious about preventing the Bush Administration from provoking a war with Iran. They could mandate that U.S. forces in Iraq cannot arrest Iranian government officials who can prove that they are in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, unless they have explicit authorization from the “sovereign†Iraqi government to do so. Source: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/02/3559/
Many leading Democrats and Republicans are supporting the move to attack Iran. Iran has a large segment of young people who are very 'Westernized', and bombing them will not lead to a stable Middle East. It is no longer extreme to say the whole world is in serious danger! The current system isn't designed for our opinion to really matter, right?
Ask AGS America doesn't need to provoke anyone they want war with as America can just do a "false flag" kinda like what AGS does in regard to his friends but in reverse.
Our current system isn't designed for his opinion to really matter either ~~~ Is "The Bush Administration Is Trying to Provoke Iran?" . . "Yes", but the top Democrat leaders seem equally ready to launch a full-scale WW3. Why? Will your opinion even matter??
So wait, 19 Arabs just highjacked couple of airlines and trashed them into the WTC? Give me a break man. What will you guys believe next?
This is a good example of how islamists use what liberals cook up as propaganda on their behalf. Of course, everyone knows that in reality, it is Iran that is actually provoking the world right now. Repeatedly calling for Israel to be wiped off the map while developing nuclear weapons. Defying the world while doing so. Proclaiming that islam will rule from the mountain tops of the world. Threatening the US. Not to mention, being caught training and supplying terrorists in Iraq with knowledge, weapons, materials, aid and support. I'd say the US has been rather tolerant of Iran's terrorist regime.
Much more than that. Some were recruited in Europe, attended jihad training and spent years preparing for and training for the mission. Of course, it's popular to deny it on forums, but praise the "magnificent 19" in mosques at Friday prayers. Not only did they do it, but other muslims since then have blown up hotels, trains, subways, cars, buildings. Attempted to blow up more more flights, attempted to blow up more buildings, attempted to blow up military bases and caught time and time again in plots like the one for the Sears towers, the ones in North Carolina. Prominent members of CAIR have been caught in terrorist plots, providing financial backing to terrorist groups, and of course, yet more muslims were caught in the Netherlands just today. You're damn right I believe it and I won't make excuses for them either.
The hell does that have to do with anything ? As well as supplying Hizbullah with weapons, and recently a big weapon deal with Russia to provide weapons to Syria.
^ what he said we need more people like GTech around DP, i'm tired of annoying liberals being the majority voice.
Too bad so many of our troops have "war fatigue", and our equipment is being destroyed at a rate of $17b per year, thanks to the Iraq war... Otherwise we might be able to fight a real aggressor...
Or deal with national emergencies. Everyone is so focused on defending the Iraq war, they are totally overlooking the domestic defense. The last time I checked, the largest attack on Americans pre-Iraq was in America, not in some foreign country.
Yup, most people don't know that when Katrina hit, there was over 80k national guard troops deployed to the middle east... With the help of even some of that man power, don't you think NOLA would be a little better off right now? I do.
Yeah TK, but GTech would have the world believe that Americans who care about other Americans, and not obsessively trying to kill Muslims are traitors or sell-outs. It's a sick world we live in where it's ok for Americans to die fighting for oil, instead of protecting the citizenry.
It's a sick world where people would sell out their country over a lie like that. Whiney liberals tried to play the National Guard card on Katrina. It backfired. Not withstanding the incompetent democrat leadership in Louisiana. But, blame America first. Ron Paul supporters with their backwards "battered wife syndrome" nonsense.
It's just recently that people started using words like liberal and conservative, I am telling you GTech, you have fallen in their trap.
Pro-war has always been the left wing stance, not the right wing one. I think you need to go back a couple decades, and maybe examine some conservative movements in other countries to understand what true conservatism is.
It sounds better when it's rewritten: Defeatism and surrender has always been the left wing stance, not the right wing one. m5 - preach on brother! You can easily get a few recruits for your cause in this thread.
The US will not attack Iran. And the Iranian government will not let the US provoke them, the Iranian government are stupid, but not so stupid that they dont understand a provocation when they get one.
I'd love to see you say that we're fighting for oil to a Marine who has had their legs blown off. Nothing like degrading everything and anything America fights for in the name of stupidity.