Iran Thread

[Athas]

I saw an article recently that Iran stared making model toys of the drone they captured with the words 'we will step on america' or some such written on it. At first I couldn't believe they'd do something so brazen, then I was shcoked that they still have the damn drone. I mean isreal is making nuclear scientists disappear left and right and Obama can't make one of our own drones blow up?

[Salodin]

I saw an article recently that Iran stared making model toys of the drone they captured with the words 'we will step on america' or some such written on it. At first I couldn't believe they'd do something so brazen, then I was shcoked that they still have the damn drone. I mean isreal is making nuclear scientists disappear left and right and Obama can't make one of our own drones blow up?

Im sure its harder then "pushing a button", and im sure the drone isn't walking down the streets like they let their scientists do.

[Athas]

Oh I'm sure if it could be destroyed remotely, it would have, but my point was that the US special forces dwarf's those of Israel.

[Xno Kappa]

The drone is probably nothing special and the media is probably sensationalizing shit. I'd bank on that rather then all this "super secret squirrel drone dat teh enemies got" nonsense.

[Athas]

Well, it is a stealth craft, the materials it's made from alone are classified above top secret.

[Kuya]

CARLSON: I think we are the only country with the moral authority [...] sufficient to do that. [The U.S. is] the only country that doesn’t seek hegemony in the world. I do think, I’m sure I’m the lone voice in saying this, that Iran deserves to be annihilated. I think they’re lunatics. I think they’re evil.

Applause for Tucker Carlson, people.

[Elvis]

holy shit

[Correction]

Bowtie in a backpedaling mood since that soundbite emerged:

Tucker Carlson
7:23 PM (2 minutes ago)

It's my fault that I got tongue tied and didn't explain myself well last night. I'm actually on the opposite side on the Iran question from many people I otherwise agree with. I think attacking could be a disaster for the US and am worried that Obama will do it, for fear of seeming weak before an election. Of course the Iranian government is awful and deserves to be crushed. But I'm not persuaded we or Israel could do it in a way that doesn't cause even greater problems. That's the main lesson of Iraq it seems to me.

That's my sincere view, but I'd rather take some lumps and be misunderstood than seem like I'm reversing myself due to pressure from Twitter.

I WAS JUST KIDDING GUYS SHEESH

[Blarg]

I hope America sets their sites on Iran so that my country, Canada, can finally step out from the shadows and rule the world like we've always wanted while the US is distracted. First rule as hegemon leaders is all you yankees are going to have to start spelling it colour, or else.

[quannum]

carlson clip

[Yuri-G]

this is why people like him are successful. notice he did not once say "we should and will bomb Iran." he simply said that they are terrible and should be annihilated. if you're vague enough with your bullshit, you can worm your way out of anything without technically backpedaling.

[quannum]

this is why people like him are successful. notice he did not once say "we should and will bomb Iran." he simply said that they are terrible and should be annihilated. if you're vague enough with your bullshit, you can worm your way out of anything without technically backpedaling.

yea it's hilarious ... "we are the only ones capable of annihilating iran" "iran should be annihilated" "we shouldn't do it though"

we are the only ones who can do this thing that needs to be done, but we shouldn't do it ... jackiechan.jpg

[Elvis]

From Pat Robertson to Bowtie, crazy is bipartisan.

[Outlaw]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/0...ers/?hpt=hp_t2

This is one of the things about Islam that disgusts me the most.

[Elvis]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/0...ers/?hpt=hp_t2

This is one of the things about Islam that disgusts me the most.

From the article you posted:

Voice of the Martyrs, an organization that monitors and attempts to assist with persecuted and minority churches around the world, issued a statement on Thursday that they have seen posts for Nadarkhani to the groups Facebook page grow over the last few days.

But the issue has not been solely spearheaded by Christian organization - Muslim organizations have also been vocal about condemning Iran.

"These types of cases, especially around apostasy, are too frequent occurrences in the Muslim world and as a Muslim, I am appalled," said Harris Zafar, national spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. "To do this in the name of Islam, I know that this isn't Islam. It is a violation of human rights and it is a violation of Islam."

Zafar, whose organization is considered more liberal than other Islamic communities, cited scripture to make his point. "Whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve," reads the Quran 18:29.

The ACLJ was asked by the pastor's lawyers in 2011 to help publicize Nadarkhani's case, according to Sekulow. Since that time, Sekulow has been in somewhat regular contact with the pastor's legal team and the ACLJ have organized a Twitter campaign called "Tweet for Youcef."

Eighty-nine members of Congress signed a letter condemning Iran for their treatment of Nadarkhani and one congressman, Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pennsylvania, issued a House resolution that if passed would stand as a condemnation from the entire House of Representatives.

Citing the Iranian constitution, the resolution "condemns the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

Among the seven co-sponsors of the resolution is Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota, the first Muslim in Congress.

Why isn't Keith Ellison, a Muslim, advocating the death penalty for apostasy?

Or Harris Zafar?

We have Muslim posters on BG too. I think 'Tyre' is a Muslim. He's American as well AFAIK.

If you hate Islam, then what do you think of American Muslims? Culture and politics change how people practice their faiths. In Israel, there are Jews who lord over non-Jews and persecute Palestinians (Christian and Muslim alike). In America, they don't. Ever wonder why that is? Why do American Jews behave so differently (overall) from Israeli Jews and the Jewish settlers - as a polity? Different societal constraints/advantages/disadvantages/norms. Even though both are Jewish and even though there is tremendous support within the Jewish community for Israel.

There are examples of 'home-grown' Islamic terrorism in the States, but Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans are like everyone else by and large. There is also a fringe Jewish fundamentalist movement in the US and Jewish terrorism like the JDL(Jewish Defense League) - who have carried out bombings against Arab Americans in the past.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Jewish fundamentalists (the colonists in the territories), attacked and vandalized a Mosque.

Vandals attack Jerusalem monastery, school - The Boston Globe
(Notice how articles like these, which report on the actions of Jewish settlers/colonists in Israel-Palestine, very RARELY stress the identity of the attackers. The headlines aren't saying 'Jewish fundamentalists'. They are saying 'Vandals' - as if this is a random act committed by apolitical/non-religious assailants.)

Vandals attacked a monastery in Jerusalem and a prominent school with a mixed Jewish-Arab student body on Tuesday, and police said they suspected Jewish extremists were behind the violence.

"Death to Christians" and other Hebrew-language graffiti were scrawled on the Greek Orthodox monastery in Jerusalem, while "Death to Arabs" was sprayed across a wall outside the bilingual "Hand in Hand" school in another part of the city.

Such acts usually target West Bank mosques but have recently expanded to include a mosque inside Israel, Israeli military bases, and now, a Christian holy site and a school.

Israel's Army Radio reported that "Maccabees of Migron" was painted on the monastery, too. Maccabees were ancient Jewish heroes, and Migron is an unauthorized settlement facing a court-ordered evacuation next month.

In the West Bank, Palestinians said "Mohammed is a pig" and other hateful slogans were also found spray-painted near a gas station of an Arab village. Rosenfeld had no information about that incident.

Hard-line settlers believe Israel has a God-given right to the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967, and reject Palestinian claims to those lands.

Extremists, believed to be young Jewish settlers, have carried out dozens of attacks on Palestinians over the past two years, chopping down olive trees, vandalizing agricultural land and setting fire to mosques. Few arrests have been made.

Focus your attention on the on-the-ground reporting from Israel-Palestine long enough and your small-mindedness will compel you to 'hate' things about Judaism as well (broad sweeping generalizations, as a result of the actions of a particular sub-group acting within a particular socio-political context).

Of course, you wouldn't say you hate Judaism because an analogous culture of antagonism and/or Orientalist views of Islam,does NOT exist here in the West for Judaism. (As a result of a combination of real Islamic terrorism engendering hatred, fear-mongering by political charlatans, etc.).

You are using Iran as an example. I get it. But it would be like someone bashing Judaism by citing the actions of Zionism and Jewish fundamentalists. During the Gaza massacre, Israeli soldiers carved the Star of David into a patch of Gazan farmland.

Source: The United Nations Institute for Training and Research; Satellite image analysis in support to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c363/Arzeh/gazas.jpg

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[Elvis]

AIPAC and the Push Toward War - The Atlantic

Late last week, amid little fanfare, Senators Joseph Lieberman, Lindsey Graham, and Robert Casey introduced a resolution that would move America further down the path toward war with Iran. The good news is that the resolution hasn't been universally embraced in the Senate.

As Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports, the resolution has "provoked jitters among Democrats anxious over the specter of war." The bad news is that, as Kampeas also reports, "AIPAC is expected to make the resolution an 'ask' in three weeks when up to 10,000 activists culminate its annual conference with a day of Capitol Hill lobbying..."

The resolution defines keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapons "capability" as being in America's "vital national interest," which is generally taken as synonymous with "worth war." And, though this "sense of Congress" resolution is nonbinding, AIPAC will probably seek unanimous Senate consent, which puts pressure on a president. Friedman says this "risks sending a message that Congress supports war and opposes a realistic negotiated solution or any de facto solution short of stripping Iran of even a peaceful nuclear capacity."

What's more, says [Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now], the non-binding status may be temporary. "Often AIPAC-backed Congressional initiatives start as non-binding language (in a resolution or a letter) and then show up in binding legislation. Once members of Congress have already signed on to a policy in non-binding form, it is much harder for them to oppose it when it shows up later in a bill that, if passed, will have the full force of law."

[Kuya]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/0...ers/?hpt=hp_t2

This is one of the things about Islam that disgusts me the most.

I was going to ask whether you posted this to imply that maybe Iran should be attacked, but then i noticed that the thread is titled Iran thread, which isn't very specific.

[Elvis]

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...870,full.story

U.S. does not believe Iran is trying to build nuclear bomb - By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2012, 6:11 p.m.

The latest U.S. intelligence report indicates Iran is pursuing research that could enable it to build a nuclear weapon, but that it has not sought to do so.

Reporting from Washington— As U.S. and Israeli officials talk publicly about the prospect of a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, one fact is often overlooked: U.S. intelligence agencies don't believe Iran is actively trying to build an atomic bomb.

A highly classified U.S. intelligence assessment circulated to policymakers early last year largely affirms that view, originally made in 2007. Both reports, known as national intelligence estimates, conclude that Tehran halted efforts to develop and build a nuclear warhead in 2003.

The most recent report, which represents the consensus of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, indicates that Iran is pursuing research that could put it in a position to build a weapon, but that it has not sought to do so.

Although Iran continues to enrich uranium at low levels, U.S. officials say they have not seen evidence that has caused them to significantly revise that judgment. Senior U.S. officials say Israel does not dispute the basic intelligence or analysis.

But Israel appears to have a lower threshold for action than Washington. It regards Iran as a threat to its existence and says it will not allow Iran to become capable of building and delivering a nuclear weapon. Some Israeli officials have raised the prospect of a military strike to stop Iran before it's too late.

Iran barred inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group, from visiting Parchin, a military site, this week to determine whether explosives tests were aimed at developing nuclear technology.

An IAEA report in November cited "serious concerns" about "possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," but did not reach hard conclusions. Another IAEA report is imminent.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisted Wednesday that Tehran had no intention of producing nuclear weapons. In remarks broadcast on state television, he said that "owning a nuclear weapon is a big sin."

But he said that "pressure, sanctions and assassinations" would not stop Iran from producing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

"I think they are keeping themselves in a position to make that decision," James R. Clapper Jr., director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 16. "But there are certain things they have not yet done and have not done for some time."

Clapper and CIA Director David H. Petraeus told a separate Senate hearing that Iran was enriching uranium below 20% purity. Uranium is considered weapons grade when it is enriched to about 90% purity, although it is still potentially usable at lower enrichment levels.

U.S. spy agencies also have not seen evidence of a decision-making structure on nuclear weapons around Khamenei, said David Albright, who heads the nonprofit Institute for Science and International Security and is an expert on Iran's nuclear program.

Albright's group estimates that with the centrifuges Iran already has, it could enrich uranium to sufficient purity to make a bomb in as little as six months, should it decide to do so.

It is not known precisely what other technical hurdles Iran would have to overcome, but Albright and many other experts believe that if it decides to proceed, the country has the scientific knowledge to design and build a crude working bomb in as little as a year. It would take as long as three years, Albright estimated, for Iran to build a warhead small enough to fit on a ballistic missile.

Albright said a push by Iran to build a nuclear weapon probably would be detected.

[kuronosan]

Why isn't anyone invading Israel already? This victimizing shit has to stop. If Iran wants to build nuclear reactors, fucking let them. If we can find Osama in a building and Hussein in a hole, I'm pretty sure a nuclear fucking facility would be a huge blip on the radar.

[Andalusian girls]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Israel's going to run a bombing strike on Iran's facilities sooner rather than later.

not too much of a limb

Israel will stike the only question is when

i'm guessing when the U.S. presidential election is in full swing come this summer or maybe fall

they don't view Obama as much of an ally but the Republican candidate will very likely fully support any action and that may force the president's hand into maintaining a pro-Israel posture when an earlier strike could court strong criticism from the administration