CHENEY: IRAN ATTACK?

Great, now I've got to come up with a dumb pun about A US attack on Iran being a stupid idea. Iraquagmire was easy--Iranquagmire?? Naw, that doesn't work... Then, again, it may not be the US that attacks--it could be Israel, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's an excerpt taken from a Washington Post article posted at StarTribune.com:

Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that Iran is a top threat to world peace and Middle East stability, accusing Tehran of sponsoring terrorism against Americans and building a "fairly robust new nuclear program."

>snicker< OK, hang on...

1) Is Cheney SURE about this "fairly robust new nuclear program"?? And DON'T tell us "It's a slam dunk." all right?
2) IRAN is a threat to world peace? Can you tell me how? Do they have ICBMs? Are THEY now going to give a nuke to Al Qaeda?
3)Even if they do give a nuke to Al Qaeda, that still doesn't make Al Qaeda "Soviet Union II: Electric Bugaloo," now, does it? I mean, the Ruskies had enough nukes to blow up the Earth. THAT'S a threat--but a single nuke? So we lose a single American city--obviously, we should try to stop it, but will one city lost to America make America go away forever?

Of course not.

America, I like to think, is made of sterner stuff than that.

But here is Cheney saying that ANOTHER country in the Middle East is somehow a threat. He must really think America is a puss-ass country. Saying the USMil is the strongest most powerful military in the world is a gross understatement. There is the amount of money we spend on "defense" and then there's a massive drop off before you get to the next country down--and guess what, it's not Iran, either. If memory serves, it's China (but don't quote me on that). Anyway, the point is, no one can touch us.

HOWEVER, an attack on Iran could quite literally wear the USMil down over time. It's already taxed dramatically between Iraq and Afghanistan (yes, we still have troops in Afghanistan) and an Iran Attack would be like the Iraq Attack in a sea of molasses.

The good news is that Cheney suggested that Israel just might move, first. Did they run out of Palestinians to kill or something? NOOO, No! I'm just kidding. I'm sure there are plenty of Palestinians left for the Israeli government to kill. It's just that even Israel has priorities. Shooting gnats with shotguns becomes less important when you think the guy nextdoor just might have a nuke.

Now, this is where things get messy(er). A friend of mine who, like me, stumbles across some wacky shit every now and again, said he heard that NoKo had promised to support Iran if they were attacked and that Russia would fall in line as well. The thing is, I can't find confirmation for this anywhere, so IT'S JUST A RUMOR.

If it is true, we're looking at the serious potential for World War X ("X" the variable, not the Roman numeral).

I wonder if people in America really understand that Muslims really don't want to take over the western world. However, they will strike back if cornered, just like we would. NoKo, however, is in fact run by a man as mad as our leaders. Dreaming up enemies where there are none and keeping his people in the dark (in Kim's case, literally) and in awe of him.

It's all just a wet dream for the military industrial complex...

Read more about the comments from the evil cyborg from the future--I mean, Cheney at StarTribune.com or check out page 2 of this post if the link is bad.
From StarTribune.com:

Last update: January 20, 2005 at 11:41 PM

Cheney: Iran a top threat to peace, stability

Jim Vandehei, Washington Post
January 21, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that Iran is a top threat to world peace and Middle East stability, accusing Tehran of sponsoring terrorism against Americans and building a "fairly robust new nuclear program."

In an interview with Don Imus aired on MSNBC's "Imus in the Morning" a few hours before President Bush's inaugural address, Cheney warned that Israel "might well decide to act first" militarily to eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities if the United States and its allies fail to resolve the standoff with Tehran diplomatically.

"Given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards," Cheney said. In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor.

"We don't want a war in the Middle East, if we can avoid it," he said.

'Outlaw regimes'

Iran has denied that its nuclear facilities are used for producing weapons. President Bush condemned Iran as part of an "axis of evil" shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks, warning that Tehran was intent on becoming a nuclear power in the volatile Middle East.

In his inaugural address, Bush did not mention Iran, but he vowed to fight for those seeking freedom from the "rulers of outlaw regimes." Some foreign policy experts predict Bush might use military force to destroy Iran's nuclear program during his second term, but the president and Cheney have promised to pursue diplomacy first.

"Certainly in the case of the Iranian situation, I think everybody would be best suited by or best treated and dealt with if we could deal with it diplomatically," Cheney said. The current White House policy calls for European nations to take the lead in negotiating for a full and verifiable halt to Iran's nuclear program. Bush has said on several occasions that all options are on the table if Iran does not comply.

If current negotiations fail, Cheney said the United States would ask the U.N. Security Council to impose international sanctions on Iran to force compliance with the nonproliferation treaty. "You look around the world at potential trouble spots, Iran is right at the top of the list," he said.

© 2005 Star Tribune