Who thinks Iran is a threat to anyone?

[txprog]

I certainly don't think they threaten anyone. Sure, Iran having nukes is not a good thing and could add great instability to the region. But this lack of a threat thing is the elephant in the room, the thing the serious people discussing this serious issue never seem to get around to: why would Iran attack ANYBODY, what would they have to gain, and what would the consequences be? Of course, if they attacked Israel or any other western ally, they'd get blown off the map the day after they did it. So why WOULD they do it? They're not suicidal, so of course they wouldn't. And neither would SH have attacked anybody no matter what he had. These bad ass leaders are pragmatists and power mad; and in the case of SH a survivor. Why would they do the one thing - an unprovoked attack - to absolutely ensure their destruction? They wouldn't. But strangely this is hardly, if ever, discussed.

Guess it makes too much sense. These guys must get their war on you know, and our friends in the media don't appear any more inclined to tell the truth and help stop the next one than they did on Iraq.

[kineneb]

1. threat to dollar, only

since they want to open a Euro-based oil bourse in March. Hence all the "Threat" BS. No military threat to us, ever. Just like Iraq & Saddam, who wanted to switch to Euro-based oil sales.

All other reasons are so much garbage.

[ret5hd]

4. anyone that doesn't know and understand what you are referring to...

is doomed to misunderstand all of our illegal efforts in the middle east. This is the exact same reason iraq was attacked.

[mom cat]

7. Do you mean OIL. Say it isn't so.

[ret5hd]

12. No...not directly...

what kineneb was referring to is the fact that March of this year Iran is opening a euro-based oil exchange. Iraq had started such an effort, and the results are evident.

"So what?", some would ask. well, as soon as countries around the world can buy oil with euros, there is less reason for them to hold onto dollars. the dollar will fall, making oil more expensive in dollars.

Our entire economy is built on cheap energy (i know: big duh). we dont care what madman sells it to us, as long as its cheap. we didnt care about saddam till he started selling in euros. we didnt care about iran till they decided to start selling in euros. it will, some say, cause a complete economic collapse in the u.s.

so yeah, you could say it is about oil...but you'd be missing the bigger picture.

[firefox]

15. It's not so.

Iran has more natural gas than anybody (besides Russia).

[oblivious]

16. Yup.

[BushOut06]

2. Stop thinking logically!

Absolutely - it would be sheer suicide for Iran to use nukes on anyone, or even hand them off to terrorists - too easy to track down where they came from.

The only thing that scares me about Iran is if this leader really does have some messianic complex, he might be willing to start a nuclear war in order to force the 'apocalypse'. But then again, we have to worry about that with the extreme right-wingers in this country as well!

[endarkenment]

3. Oh you will find the DU'ers who have bought the bullshit.

Just wait. They will explain it all to you.

[Tom Joad]

5. Israel is the one that is full of WMD's, Iran now has none.

Why aren't we a)addressing our own nukes and b) why are we not addressing israel's nukes, the nation that introduced Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East??

[Boojatta]

6. "if they attacked Israel or any other western ally, they'd get...

blown off the map the day after they did it."

Are you saying that Iran has not attacked Israel at any time since Britain and the US have had nuclear weapons?

[Village Idiot]

10. I have never heard of Iran directly attacking Israel.

Do you have info to the contrary? Share, if so.

Here's a good look at what has been going on:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO505A.html

"With between 200 and 500 thermonuclear weapons and a sophisticated delivery system, Israel has quietly supplanted Britain as the World's 5th Largest nuclear power, and may currently rival France and China in the size and sophistication of its nuclear arsenal. Although dwarfed by the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia, each possessing over 10,000 nuclear weapons, Israel nonetheless is a major nuclear power, and should be publicly recognized as such."

Iran would have to be INSANE to attack Israel.

[Boojatta]

14. Are you moving the goalposts from attacking to "directly attacking"?

The quote that I responded to said this:
"if they attacked Israel or any other western ally..."

That raises a question: when Iraq got military assistance from the US, could any given combat operation by Iran against Iraq be described as an attack by Iran on an ally of the US?

[Village Idiot]

32. I had thought you meant physically.

As in the Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear reactor...

[Joe for Clark]

8. Iran can be a threat. They were a lot more of a threat than Iraq

ever was.

No more so than North Korea, or others - but there are threats out there. I understand the US may really have to go to war one day. But this Iraq business is worse than stupid.

It is the largest reason I am so pissed at B*sh. There are real threats - but he put our armies in the middle of a civil war and actually increased the threat - and I didn't think that was even possible in 2000.

I think we created a power vacum and they may try and fill it. But make no mistake where the problem started.

Joe

[Rex]

9. Bigtime threat that the BFEE created.

I think Israel has a lot to be afraid of. To bad they got used and abused by the BFEE, just like We the People did.

[rman]

11. Iran certainly is not more a threat to anyone then the US is

[Mossadeq]

13. If we attacked them...

They would strike at our 5th fleet in Manama with cruise missiles, our bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait would be struck with missiles. Any ships in the Gulf would be destroyed by cruise missiles.

Iran has some very dangerous missiles..

Ukrainian arms dealers smuggled 18 nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China in 1999-2001, Ukraine's prosecutor-general has said.
The Soviet-era Kh-55 missiles - also known as X-55s - have a maximum range of 2,500km (1,550 miles). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4361505.stm

Not to mention the SS-N-22 'Sunburn' missile. This missile cannot be stopped once launched, the US is defensless against it. It is considered one of the most dangerous missiles on earth, and would slice our ships in half.

[Lefty48197]

29. You must be kidding

It would take about 3 hours of bombing to cripple Iran's military. They'd be left with horses and scud missiles.

[Mossadeq]

33. ya right.

just like Iraq. A few hours.

[enigma000]

17. Why do you assume Iranian leadership is rational

while Western (US) leadership is, potentially, suicidal? Or at the least far more warlike?

As well, the "blow them off the map" may very well just be a bluff on our part and I suspect they know it.

60 years after dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Americans are still debating it. If the Iranians nuke New York do you think the American political leadership exists to incinerate 50 million innocent Iranians? Doubtful.

Maybe the Iranian leadership believe its not suicidal to attack us - they could figure we will do nothing while our cities are deleted one by one.........

[kineneb]

24. no more rational than BushCo

which is to say, not rational at all. Both are influenced by fundie religion of whatever variety. Right now, Iran has no means to attack the continental US, and likely no desire. They would be attacking many of their own families, which now live in the US.

BushCo, in their guise as Big Oil, Inc., on the other hand, has a vested interest in preventing a major oil producing country running their exchange in the Euro rather than the dollar. See petro-Euro go up, see dollar value tank.

[rpgamerd00d]

18. When Iran's leader says he wants to wipe out Israel, thats a threat

nt

[kineneb]

22. yes, but to Israel, not us.

Israel, contrary to popular opinion, is not the 51st state. Last time I checked a map, Israel was still in the eastern hemisphere. It also has plenty of its own nukes to protect it from any other country.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Do the Iranians consider the peaceloving U.S. a threat?

Silly of them thinking that just because we have no qualms about shooting up half the world we might do the same to them.

[DanCa]

20. Iran should be *watched* not interefered with.

That's all I go to say on the subject. I am sorry but this administration has lied to me so much I dont believe anything they say anymore.

[The Stranger]

21. Somehow everyone forgot to "recommend for greatest."

Kicked and recommended.

[Zenlitened]

23. I do. I'm troubled by the idea of religious fanatics with nukes.

But... since I now live in a country run by religious fanatics with nukes... well, it makes it kinda difficult to make the case with any degree of conviction. :D

[Hobarticus]

25. Well, they fought an eight-year long war with Iraq in the '80's

over border and Shiia/Sunni grudges. So I'd expect to see Round 2 once we leave Iraq....and we'll attack Iran to prop up our puppet state, and we're right back where we started.

To say that Iran isn't threat to ANYONE is a bit glib, given their history. But are they a threat to us, today? Not directly, no.

[endarkenment]

30. Iraq attacked and invaded Iran, not the other way around.

So it is a bit disingenuous to use the Iran-Iraq war as an example of Iran's aggressive behavior. Another thread on this somewhere here on DU got us up to 1740 or so as the last time anyone could document actual aggressive military behavior by something resembling the state of Iran, and even that was rather problematic.

Oh yes, and as a last resort the apologists will fall back on 'but they support hezbollah' or 'but their fruitcake president keeps saying awful stuff'.

We are in another pre-war PR campaign, you'd think that DU'ers, having been through this just two years ago, would recognize the symptoms.

[Lefty48197]

26. I think we should nuke the fuk out of Iran

sorry, we owe those "fundamentalist Muslims" one, just as we owe one to the "fundamentalist Christians". Let them all burn in hell, but please Dear Lord let the burning begin soon!

[Mossadeq]

27. I hope you are joking.

[zippy890]

28. threat to their own people

the government is very unpopular among Iran people, everything I've heard & read.

to any other country? no.

[endarkenment]

31. were unpopular.

Unfortunately our actions in the middle east effectively destroyed most support for the opposition political movement in Iran.