I've long been convinced that the real threat Iraq and Iran pose is to the hegemony of the dollar. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Oil_Bourse
Now read this, but skip all the 'whereas'es and read what it specifically calls for:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hc110-362
From Eric Garris at antiwar.com:
Resolution 362 has already gained 170 co-sponsors, or nearly 40 percent of the House. It has been referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has 49 members, 24 of whom, including the ranking Republican, are co-sponsors. The Iran Nuclear Watch Web site writes, “According to the House leadership, this resolution is going to ‘pass like a hot knife through butter’ before the end of June on what is called suspension – meaning no amendments can be introduced during the 20-minute maximum debate. It also means it is assumed the bill will pass by a 2/3 majority and is non-controversial.”
Iran's nuclear 'program' is nothing but a pretext. Even Israeli nationalism is nothing but a pretext. Iran is a direct threat to the ability of the reigning plutocracy to extract wealth from the economy of the entire world by way of monetary expansion. That's why Iran will be stopped at any cost—to us non-elites, that is.
Of Course, Iran working towards Nuclear weapons.
Can you blame them for it? Two national governments on their borders have been overthrown. Israel has threatened them with air strikes…
A Nuclear Weapon is a defensive weapon.
Ever notice that North Korea and Pakistan can resist the United States,,, What do they have in common?They are both Nuclear Powers.
It is simple bigotry that Iran is not being allowed to develop atomic weapons. Why shouldn’t an Islamic hereditary theocracy be allowed to build I.C.B.M.s?
A nuclear middle-east will be a peaceful middle-east because of Mutually assured destruction. Mutually assured destruction kept the peace between the United States and the Soviet Union for decades.
Atomic bombs are defensive weapons because they make victory impossible for anyone.
Nuclear proliferation is going to happen sooner or later any way.Technology always spreads. Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, but now everyone has it. Even the most isolated illiterate tribesman carrys an assualt rifle when he goes to war.
In the future, every Mullah, Generalismo, and Warlord will have the ability to hurl nuclear weapons at one another. But, they will also be threatened with the same thing coming back at them. War shall become obsolete and peace shall prevail.
Support Iran, Support Nuclear Proliferation, Support World Peace.
Thinking Dove: Of Course, Iran working towards Nuclear weapons. Can you blame them for it? Two national governments on their borders have been overthrown. Israel has threatened them with air strikes…
According to both the IAEA and the U.S.'s own NIE on Iran, there is no evidence that Iran is working towards nuclear weapons. More than that, Iran voluntarily suspended its (IAEA-safeguarded, civilian) uranium enrichment program for two years. The U.S. government didn't even acknowledge it.
And the U.S. administration knows that Iran isn't persuing nuclear weapons. That's why the administration's position has shifted to the stance that Iran shouldn't be allowed to have the mere knowledge of how to build nuclear weapons.
The nuclear issue is pure pretext.
Thinking Dove: A Nuclear Weapon is a defensive weapon.
No, it isn't. The use of an atomic weapon unavoidably results in the deaths of innocents. It is therefore not a defensive weapon anymore than 'traditional' terrorism is a defensive weapon.
Thinking Dove: Ever notice that North Korea and Pakistan can resist the United States,,, What do they have in common? They are both Nuclear Powers. It is simple bigotry that Iran is not being allowed to develop atomic weapons. Why shouldn’t an Islamic hereditary theocracy be allowed to build I.C.B.M.s? [...]
Ever notice that North Korea and Pakistan can resist the United States,,, What do they have in common? They are both Nuclear Powers.
[...]
Iran is not and never was developing nuclear weapons. The adminstration's beligerence toward Iran is no more about "weapons of mass destruction" than the invasion of Iraq was. Note that the Democratic politicians, swept into power on a wave of antiwar sentiment, have managed to do less than nothing to restrain the political objective of a permanent occupation of Iraq by U.S. forces. And more telling is the complete lack of a challenge they have posed to the administration about what the real objective is in Iraq anyway. It has nothing to do with any threat it posed to the United States, and it certainly has nothing to do with the promotion of democracy in the region. The Iraqis themselves (not to mention the voters in the U.S.) overwhelmingly want the U.S. out of Iraq. Democracy this is not.
Here's what's really going on:
Iraq was invaded because they had switched to the euro over dollars for payment of oil, and (contrary to the lies told in the U.S.) they had proven to U.N. weapons inspectors that they had disarmed, thereby robbing the U.S. of the excuse for the trade sanctions put in place by the Clinton administration. In other words, Iraq was about to become an economic force beyond the control of the U.S. dollar hegemony.
And this is exactly what Iran is becoming as we speak. They are right now working out a deal to sell a whole lot of natural gas to India, with China's and Pakistan's potentially well-rewarded cooperation and assistance. If the U.S. dollar hegemony can't stop them now from Iraq via the Bush administration, they will stop them later from Afghanistan via the Obama administration.
The real goal is—and has always been—economic control, and failing that, economic paralysis.
Anyway, I filed this under "economic questions" as an open challenge to find the flaw in my economic analysis of the situation. This does not mean replaicing the analysis with ideological motivations. Many of the actors are clearly motivated by ideology in one form or another. This doesn't by itself disprove that they or others aren't taking advantage of the situation to their own massive personal gain.