UN General Assembly

[Joe Biden 2020]

You've got to realize that I'm not necessarily advocating bombing Iran, I'm just saying that military action should not be taken off the table.  I wish diplomacy would work and I wish the sanctions would mean something, but until that happens, I'm afraid we're at an impasse.

What is your GOAL? You haven't explained what you hope to accomplish.

Yes, I did.  Read a few posts earlier, my goal is to erradicate the nuclear capabilities and the Uranium enrichment.

[ag]

You've got to realize that I'm not necessarily advocating bombing Iran, I'm just saying that military action should not be taken off the table.  I wish diplomacy would work and I wish the sanctions would mean something, but until that happens, I'm afraid we're at an impasse.

What is your GOAL? You haven't explained what you hope to accomplish.

Yes, I did.  Read a few posts earlier, my goal is to erradicate the nuclear capabilities and the Uranium enrichment.

Well, I guess, you could just nuke Iran tomorrow. Make sure that nobody survives. That's probably, is the cheapest way of doing it.

[ag]

This guy will not go away unless we use military action.  I think there is a growing justifiable case for military action on Iran.  I don't even think harsher sanctions will work, because he will just defy those sanctions that have no real power anyway.

What precisely is our goal? We should use the military just to get rid of the Iranian President? Why on Earth is that even important?

Get rid of their nuclear arsenal and force them to cease their Uranium enrichment.  They may say it's for "peaceful" purposes, but everybody knows thats not the case.  They are building it to attack and try to destroy Israel.  Of course, then, the United States and Russia need to get rid of their nuclear capabilities as well, so we can live in a world "free of nukes" as President Obama calls it.

Good luck w/ that. What you are likely to get if you do this is a huge mess, compared w/ which Iraq will seem like a Sunday picnick. Iran is huge, multi-ethnic, very complex. You remove the government - you own it. Good luck. And just hope that the next government isn't more anti-American than the current.

Yeah, war is never a good idea, unless diplomacy just absolutely fails.  Like I said, Ahmadinajead laughs at diplomacy and ignores sanctions.  What are we supposed to let him do, run wild and build up so they can destroy Israel?  I understand the risks of going to war with Iran making Iraq look like child's play, but the risk of letting the Iranian regime run wild and free is greater than the risk of letting Saddam Hussein run free.

And, just remind me, what was, exactly, the risk of letting Saddam Hussein run free (in 2003)? I don't mean the risk to the Iraqis, of course - that was there, undoubtedly.

Anyway, if you want to go fight Iran, first explain, what exactly is it that you want to achieve? What sort of the post-war Iran/Persia you envision? What would be a success?

He himself was a weapon of mass destruction.  While not immediately capable, he was in a position to gather resources to wreak havoc on the middle east.  I hate to imagine what he could have done had we left him in power.

He? Probably, would have killed a few more Iraqis. He sure wasn't in a position to threaten pretty much anyone else.

Hey, he had been a lot more threatening to his neighbors for most of his rule than he was at the moment of his overthrough.

[Joe Biden 2020]

The main thing that concerns me about a military conflict with Iran is that it could turn into a 21st century Vietnam where hundreds of thousands of lives are lost, yet nobody wins.  Or, it could turn into a Korea where the US wins in fairly short order, but we have troops still there some 60 years later.  Really, there is no winnable scenario for the US when it comes to Iran.  It's dangerous to let him be, but it's dangerous to take him out.  It seems to be a lose-lose situation, or at least a non-winnable scenario any way we go.

Another thing I'm worried about is Iran is Afghanistan's western neighbor.  I'm afraid, and suprised he hasn't, fund the Taliban or give them an unexpected safe haven, thus creating conflict that is 5 countries long, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.  Remember, Pakistan and India still don't like each other

[Free Palestine]

The Taliban massacred Shi'ites in Afghanistan.  I doubt they'd be able to spread into Iran.

[ag]

The main thing that concerns me about a military conflict with Iran is that it could turn into a 21st century Vietnam where hundreds of thousands of lives are lost, yet nobody wins.  Or, it could turn into a Korea where the US wins in fairly short order, but we have troops still there some 60 years later.  Really, there is no winnable scenario for the US when it comes to Iran.  It's dangerous to let him be, but it's dangerous to take him out.  It seems to be a lose-lose situation, or at least a non-winnable scenario any way we go.

Another thing I'm worried about is Iran is Afghanistan's western neighbor.  I'm afraid, and suprised he hasn't, fund the Taliban or give them an unexpected safe haven, thus creating conflict that is 5 countries long, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.  Remember, Pakistan and India still don't like each other

There is no more reason for the Iranian regime to support Taliban than there is for it to support the US. Ideologically and religiously they are far, far appart and they heartily despise each other. Yes, they both hate the US. But the US is far, and the local enemy is nearby. Why should they create a monster that will fight them?

And it makes still less sense of Iran to fight Pakistan, India, or whoever. You seem to believe, their only objective in the world is to wreac havoc. Why would they do that?

[Beet]

Why is this not in International General Discussion?

[Badger]

In the words of that famous pacifist Winston Churchill: "It is always better to jaw-jaw than war-war".

[Јas]

Why is this not in International General Discussion?

Good question.

The answer seems implicit from Bushie's first post here - he thinks the floor of the UN should only be open to US allies. That or, the thread is mistitled and he basically was just advocating American military action against Iran (until his subsequent ownage by ag, which seems to have turned him into warning against military action against Iran).

[Joe Biden 2020]

I was thinking UN General Assembly... In New York... In US General Discussion.  Obviously it does belong in the Int'l Gen Dis.  If I could get Lunar to move this thread, I would appreciate it.

The reason for the thread in the first place, was watching CNN yesterday evening at 4:00 and the subject of the Iranian President speaking at the UNGA.  I was just ranting about this idiot and was hoping for a civil, respectful discussion on it, not a decidely liberal, anti-war-in-all-circumstances.  I was hoping some Republicans would join in the discussion.  Oh well, it was a good, lively discussion nonetheless.