Petraeus works to halt foreign fighters. (1 Viewer)

[DavidM]

Nate, I certainly don't think Iran is the "victim" -- probably one of the countries I have the least amount of respect for or trust in -- in large part, a product of what I grew up knowing about them and an opinion that hasn't changed much over time.

I was attempting to look at the current situation from how I'd imagine those in Iran might, and as a direct response to that one comment from you. With their "enemy" flanking them on both sides, I don't agree with you that they "know" we aren't going to attack them.

I think blackadder makes a fair point that under the current situation, it's a powder keg should Iran overreact to our presence. And if I'm in their shoes, I'd be a bit skeptical and concerned, too. That isn't compassion for the enemy, just an effort to consider that one point from another perspective.

All political points aside, stay safe, Nate. You know, or should, that matters more to us than anything else in this.

 

[CitySaint]

What's funny about this whole thing is that Sadaam was actually our buffer against Iran. Now we have to physically be there to buffer and contain them. To control Iran, without physically being there, we would have to create something similiar to Sadaam. I'm not advocating Dictatorship here but in the since that Sadaam had a very strong central government in Iraq that was very nationalist.

When Sadaam fell and the central gov along with him it was like when the levees broke. There was a flood of Iranian sympathizers who are now attempting to establish strongholds in Iraq that they could not develop under Sadaam. On arab TV Sadr spokesman are televised live from Iran, Sadr gets all of his talking points/funding/arms from them, and he travels there frequently. The government in Iraq is just as much an Iranian backed one as it is a U.S. backed one. Iraq needs a strong central government and a huge nationalist movement that goes beyond the religiousity that Iran and their Shiite tools have been pumping in.

 

[BullDawg]

Sorry for the outburst...ye olde nerves were a bit frayed. Today is a better day.

I've said this before yet have failed to follow through...I should simply avoid any discussion concerning Iraq. I can't even make a valid, coherent argument without treading dangerously close to classified information. So everything I say sounds blindly biased.