How Dangerous is Iran's Ahmadinejad? Not as Dangerous as the chimp...

[leftchick]

<snip>

It is often said that Ahmadinejad is more dangerous because he is a millenarian, i.e. he believes in the near advent of the messianic Twelfth Imam, the promised one of the Shiites. But in fact, most millenarians are fatalists, and are willing to wait passively for God's will to intervene in history. So, his belief in the near advent of the last days may actually make him less dangerous than a practical, hardnosed secularist might be. Besides, he cannot be dangerous if he is not a commander of the armed forces, which the president in Iran is not.

http://www.juancole.com/

When I think of our insane chimp who sits in the Oval Office, Believes in The End Times and commands the most powerful military in the world, I think he wins hands down as the more dangerous of the two.

:scared:

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Could they both be as dangerous?

Iran has an impressive army...ours is faltering. Iran has the support of Russia and China...we have almost no one.

Why is one nut-job "OK," but another is not?

[leftchick]

3. The Iranian "nut job"

does not command the Iranian military.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Perhaps, not...

...who does? Those who listen to his insane rantings?

[leftchick]

6. The Mullahs

who probably tolerate his insane rantings. Sort of Like Israel tolerating Peres' insane rantings.

[NJ_Lib]

12. The Mullahs have the final say...

You can have the most educated, peace-loving ruler in Iran but it doesn't mean a damn thing... The Mullahs have the last word about the direction of their country and any military action and God-Forbid, err... Allah-forbid, the President disagrees... The people will riot in the streets, almost always in favor of the Mullahs... Always... Religion rules in the Arab countries and the Koran has the last word... How that Koran is interpeted is what gives us the rich culture of all the different Arab nations... They all have a slightly different take on those translations, suited by man to fit their needs over the last thousand years...

[Rhiannon12866]

15. We have an excellent army, but they're busy elsewhere.

And sadly overextended.:-(

If Bush* didn't realize that Iraq was comprised of Sh'ia, Sunnis and Kurds before he planned his war, how much can he be expected to know about Iran? The fact that they are much larger and much more populous than Iraq, where we are doing very poorly, should be enough to give even the most benighted in this administration pause. The only reason that Saddam was able to hold his own as well as he did in the Iran-Iraq war was that he was given help by the US, Reagan and Bush Sr. And still the loss of life was tremendous. The Iranians are organized and, even more frightening, not afraid to die. When confronting the Iraqis, they just kept coming, in wave after wave, with the "keys to the kingdom" around their necks. Bush* needs to re-think any engagement with Iran, no matter who is in charge. But he hasn't the sense to consult history.;(

[mopinko]

20. our army is broken, badly broken

jack murtha is telling everyone who will listen.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1144129&mesg_id=1144129

[Rhiannon12866]

21. Thank you so much. Jack Murtha is one source who we can believe.

And that's pretty scary, considering how tough the administration has been talking, lately.
:scared:

I guess what I should have said was that we did have the best fighting force in the world. But, as with Iraq, we broke that, too.:-(

[sweetheart]

2. I'd love to read chimpy's letter

For all the talking, chimp has never come forward with any
honest plans or engagement, nor will he ever, we have learned
what to expect: graft, incomptetence, stupidity, racism,
murder, ignorance, foolhardy gunboat government that can't
put any words to it because its "the rule of force" and
is normally considered criminal.

[leftchick]

4. JUan Cole links to the LAT Letter report

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran10may10,0,1481172.story?coll=la-home-world

[sweetheart]

7. I was able to read it

in a regular english translation. I don't need any help
from the LAT to spin it... the text spoke for itself.

I don't have any concern that they will launch a war
against anyone. He is making an effort to communicate
and engage, something very mature indeed, next to the
puerile dropping of bombs and temper tantrums of the baby.

[NJ_Lib]

8. While it would appear he is making an effort to...

... communicate, you really need to read between the lines...

This letter is not so much for the Chimp as it is for the world's eyes... He knew the Chimp would sniff at this and not take it seriously, but he also knew many people of the world would take it for what it is, a very well-written letter that would actually have me believing it... If only I didn't know better...

Please read between the lines... I wouldn't say the call for Israel and all of it's citizens to be wiped off the face of the earth, or forcing all of the world's people to follow his Almightly God, a very "mature" thing to do... JMHO off course...

[sweetheart]

10. talkity talk talk

I'm saying that we can achieve so so much more with iran by
talking to them directly engaging the people and whomever
is willing, as by that do we influence them that our intent
is not war, but civility.

I am willing to overlook the jewish revisionism, if he does
not start a war. We've got much worse problems and iran
wants to talk, a first negotiating position, however much
it will evolve and refine that all civil people can
concur.

I read between the lines, that one leader is talking and
as long as people are talking, they're not killing. I'm
all for israel coming out of the dark with his 400 nuclear
bomb arsenal, so we can have an honest chat in the ME.

This iranian dude has (outside of some horrid crimes against
gays and women by his state), not mass murdered anyone, not
invaded any nation states, and is currently threatened by
israel and the US with nuclear and conventional attacks,
however obliquely. It has nations on 2 sides of it that have
been attacked and occupied, where civilians are mowed down
by the thousands for unnecessary evils.

I'm for talk and disarmament, but israel and the US are
doing neither.

[NJ_Lib]

11. If only it really worked like that...

You're thinking like a mature, educated person... Talks are better than war but I really don't think Iran wants to "talk" to anybody... This letter is just a show to the world of how "civilized" Iran is and they really want to talk but I would love to engage him and start those talks... Only then his true colors would come out and his fanatisizm would rear it's ugly head... But I agree, let's start those "talks" he is asking for, only then the world will see what this letter really means to him...

[leftchick]

14. I was pissed at the LAT spin

where did you find the English translation? The fact that condi and the chimp denounced the letter with out having read it back fires on them, IMO. Instead of isolating Iran they have managed to isolate the US.

[sweetheart]

16. here is a link to the letter

http://www.iran.ru/eng/iran_news.php?act=news_by_id&_n=1&news_id=26782

It speaks for itself, for all the paranoia they attempt to package it
in, i'm not seeing the basis for the fear. I can't agree all his points,
or rather i feel i should think about his letter a bit more and write
him a response.

[mom cat]

23. That is the core of the difference: Our nutcake has nukes and has

threatened to use them.

[NJ_Lib]

9. Your son's drawing brought tears to...

... my eyes... Out of the mouth of a babe... What a smart boy you're raising, kudos to you, from one Mum to another...

[leftchick]

13. why thank you NJ-Lib

I am very proud of both of my boys. The one who did this just turned nine years old. He came up with this all on his own one night a few months agao. I was astounded! I knew it was a keeper! It made me cry too.

:)

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I love your son's drawing, as well, and always meant to tell you so.

Such awareness, at such a young age, really blew me away.:wow:

Just yesterday, a friend was saying that it's a mistake to bring children into the terrible world that we're leaving them. I disagreed. We need more kids like your son, if there is any hope of saving it.O8)

[Rhiannon12866]

17. I absolutely agree.

And it's true that most who look to Allah are content to wait for his will. Bush*, on the other hand, believes that God told him to invade Iraq.:crazy:

And the fact that Bush* is prepared to squander an effort to engage the US in a dialogue with Iran, is willing to leave this to others, while continuing with threats and tough talk, and believes that we're winning in Iraq, while the casualties continue to mount, and things get worse there by the day, definitely makes him the more dangerous of the two, and dangerously out of touch with reality.
:scared:

[The Stranger]

19. That's the first I've heard of this milleniar--- well, whatever it is.

[Gregorian]

22. Maybe Iranians are less dangerous than Americans.

Maybe the sock puppet is just that. And the people really are more powerful than we often see. For starters, Iranians are gulping down as many kilowatt-hours as the average American. The president only has the power to do what the opinion polls let him do. In a sense he is signing things to either allow or disallow the will of the people. And if the people...bla bla bla, you know the rest.

I would say that the entire middle east used to be less dangerous. Now they really ARE focused on us.