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Petraeus says strike on Iran could spark nationalism
By: reuters on: 04.02.2010 [10:00 ] (1072 reads)
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(4264 bytes) [nc]
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Iran criticizes U.S. missile deployments in Gulf
Tue, Feb 2 2010TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A military strike on Iran could have the unintended consequence of stirring nationalist sentiment to the benefit of Tehran's hard-line government, U.S. General David Petraeus told Reuters.
Iran's June election gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term but sparked the worst internal crisis in the Islamic Republic's history, putting internal pressure on a government already facing the threat of more sanctions over its nuclear program.
"It's possible (a strike) could be used to play to nationalist tendencies," Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command region, which includes Iran, said in an interview this week.
"There is certainly a history, in other countries, of fairly autocratic regimes almost creating incidents that inflame nationalist sentiment. So that could be among the many different, second, third, or even fourth order effects (of a strike)."
Tensions over Iran's nuclear program have set off speculation that Israel could make good on veiled threats to hit its arch-foe pre-emptively. But Israel's envoy to Washington said in December the U.S.-Israeli dialogue on Iran has not reached the point of discussing the military option.
U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have warned that any strike on Iran would not stop the Islamic Republic from pursuing nuclear weapons. Instead, it would only delay Tehran, an opinion Petraeus said he shared.
Dennis Blair, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told Congress on Tuesday that Iran was keeping open the option of developing nuclear weapons but that it remained unclear whether Tehran had the political will to do so.
Petraeus, commenting on advances of Iran's nuclear program, said: "On the one hand, there is no question that there has been a continuation of various aspects of the nuclear program but I'm not sure it has always proceeded as rapidly as has been projected at various times."
GRADUAL BOOST IN DEFENSES
Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel under a plan the West hopes will stop the material from being used for atomic bombs.
The same day, Iran also said it would soon hang nine more rioters over unrest that erupted after the June presidential vote, which protesters said was rigged.
Petraeus cautioned that the "big winner" of the election had been Iran's security apparatus, expanding the influence the Revolutionary Guards Corps, including its elite Qods force.
"It's gone from I think a theocracy that had democratic elements in a narrow spectrum ... to a government that is the result of a hijacked election and a regime that is kept in power by security services to a vastly greater extent than has ever been the case before," he said.
Asked how this changed prospects diplomatically, Petraeus said: "I don't think it simplifies the situation for those who are trying to pursue diplomacy if the role of the Foreign Ministry is diminished further and the role of the Qods force has been augmented."
To counter the Iranian threat and reassure anxious Gulf allies, the United States has expanded land- and sea-based missile defense systems in and around the Gulf.
Petraeus stressed it had been a gradual build-up — an approach shared by both the Obama and Bush administrations — and not something sparked by events in Iran in recent months.
"This has been built up over years of inflammatory Iranian rhetoric, alarming Iranian activities and Iranian provision of arms, money, training, explosives and direction in some cases to a variety of different extremist elements," Petraeus said.
Iran has accused the United States of seeking to stoke "Iran phobia" in the Middle East by deploying the missile defense systems in the Gulf.
The United States and major European allies are pursuing broader U.N. sanctions against Iran due to its disputed nuclear activity. The United States, Britain, Germany and France have called for a fourth round of U.N. measures against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment activities as demanded by five Security Council resolutions
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6123TN20100203
by cosmo on 04.02.2010 [13:09 ]
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This one track minded idiot should worry about the immediate consequences that there will be no more middle east.
What a zioIdiot!
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by Kamau_Ajamu on 04.02.2010 [15:23 ]
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...after Israel, or the US hits Iran, I see North Korea hitting the South, China taking over Taiwan, Israel being eliminated from the so-called 'Middle East' by Iran, Lebanon and Syria, and there'll be NOTHING the west could do about it simply because the UN General Council will vote in favor of it, and against another illegal war.
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by Kamau_Ajamu on 04.02.2010 [15:24 ]
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...Nationalism would be the LEAST of his worries...
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by djandjolik on 04.02.2010 [15:35 ]
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With Iran large population of young people and huge stock piles of arrows it would be impossible to decapitated such huge country with huge natural resources and a backyard of Russia strategic littorial states and Russian strategic dream for warm water in the natural resources rich Persian gulf. Iran is a true Russian ace card after countries bordering with black sea.
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by bernie22 on 04.02.2010 [17:17 ]
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Peterhead is trying to put on a good face because he
knows he will go down in the history books as the
general who lost the Middle East war????
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by gmmonko on 05.02.2010 [02:01 ]
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...with more than 5000 cruise missiles. It would be niece to see the US Nazis defeated, but Iran's weaponry isn't made to do that.
With the old Soviet Union around this situation we face now wouldn't have happened. Russia has to protect its own people and interests and yes we like the Russians to get involved, but at what price?
Just connect the dots the World is heading into a new kind of fascism/plutocracy.
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by Toussaint-L'Ouverture on 05.02.2010 [02:53 ]
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in fact use an attack on Iran as an opening to place itself at the center of the world's economy for the next 50-100 years. This could be achieved by simply launching Operation Checkmate.
Operation Checkmate would be airstrike against the Saudi oilfields, flown over Caspian and Iranian airspace. The operation would consist of: 84 Tu22M3s carrying a mix of 336 ARM Kh-15P and 504 ASM Kh-15 (Kh-15P on external hardpoints and Kh-15 on internal rotary launcher), 32 Tu95MS16 carrying 512 Kh-55, and 8 Tu 160 carrying 96 Kh-55.
This simple operation, which could be conducted in the space of six-hours, would remove one half of the world's oil export volume from the market and effectively make Russia the only large-scale oil exporter. Consequently, it would increase the price of a barrel of oil, conservatively, by 1000 %, and effectively neutralize the already fading economic supremacy of the american economy (non-capitalization intended).
Operation Checkmate, a military operation with the objective not of killing people, not of conquering territory, but simply of neutralizing the adversary's economic base economically. The united states (non-capitalization intended) would not even respond militarily to this operation as there would be no use. In the words of Gil Scott-Heron from his song "Winter in America", there would be "nothin' left to save"!
We have come to the cross! It is time, in the words of Miyomoto Musachi, ! to "cross the fjord"! Hopefully, those invested in a future absent american (non-capitalization intended) hegemony will cross at precisely the correct place and time, and do so swiftly!
If one is positioned to do so, one might seriously consider buying gold coinage, in weights of one ounce or a half ounce, and no less than 91.667% pure, when the price per ounce drops below $975.00.
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by djandjolik on 05.02.2010 [04:41 ]
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It is not the quantity of weaponry in today war that decided the winner or the loser, but it is the effect of war itself that determine the winner or the loser. Clear example is Iraq and the government installed there absolutely pro Iran (shiah) not pro Saudi or Kuwait or UAE (Sunny). Bombing Iran would render the gulf countries a dangerous area for business (no ships would dare to bring out crude oil from the gulf) especially oil and its derivative for very very long time. European should kiss Russian ass to get oil and gas if that is the choice.
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by djandjolik on 06.02.2010 [14:19 ]
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If the USan has sphere of influence in Saudi, UAE, and Kuwait, then Russia has sphere of influence in Caspian littoral states plus Iran. Both have the same interest in the oil rich gulf. I don't think Iran would be attack.
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by Syrian on 06.02.2010 [15:08 ]
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I love it!!! Operation checkmate, it would be considered the cleanest military victor of ALL HISTORY.
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by RoyDubai on 07.02.2010 [00:28 ]
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"...the "big winner" of the election had been ... the security apparatus...It's gone... to a government that is the result of a hijacked election and a regime that is kept in power by security services......." he said.
Sounds like the U.S. to me. Petraeus is a liar and a mass-murderer.
".
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by usama on 07.02.2010 [08:20 ]
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"There is certainly a history, in other countries, of fairly autocratic regimes almost creating incidents that inflame nationalist sentiment."
September 11th, anyone?
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by Syrian on 07.02.2010 [12:07 ]
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ATTACK US!!! COME ON! YOU IDIOTIC COWARDLY BEASTS!
Stop trying to create little terrorist events on your own in order to justify your attacks. Stop trying to gather up your shoddy allies to aid you. Try and take us on, by yourself and see how long you last! YOU ARE A JOKE!!! I laugh every day when your stupid armor rolls around the streets and gets blown to smithereens. Why not fly some sorties over our skies? We probably won't fire on you, come on! Show us how much guts you have you murderous F**KERS!
Don't send your mercenaries to provoke us like you did when you murdered 13 syrian children. Don't think we won't repay you for that! We will, just you wait you fuckers, thinking you're the best people on earth. When you are weak, not even the most altruistic person will stand in front of you to defend you from our wrath. These mercenaries will be all alone in the deserts of Iraq. Then the fun begins, as the dead are avenged.
Humans live for war, this is something a lot of pacifists (as much as I respect them on a case by case basis) forget. It is human nature, a human will sometimes FEEL the need to pick a fight when he sees injustice. It is a natural instinct that tells you, if I don't make a stand RIGHT NOW, I will never be a human. I will simply be a sheep, ready to be slaughtered by those who have taken in upon themselves to rob us all and murder our children. This is why I laugh at all these anti-war protests, they will achieve nothing. Blood must be spilt.
In this case, DO NOT protest against this war. Let them come. Please encourage them! Let Iran call their bluff! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
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by Econ on 07.02.2010 [14:43 ]
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This is what happens to America when you have morons like Gen. Petraeus in the U.S. military who fight economically self-defeating wars just to get promoted.
There seems to be NO institutional memory in the U.S. military. It is far too easy to get America into some costly jew-war aided by dual loyal jews and their zionist propaganda.
The first lesson that this idiot general should have learned in Vietnam was that the U.S. was defeated due to NATIONALISM, when the North and South Vietnamese put aside their differences to kick out a dumb and arrogant U.S. military full of hubris.
Nationalism is also responsible for the U.S. defeat in Lebanon, Somalia,
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saddam Hussein set a brilliant trap for the U.S. military in Iraq: Let the dumb super imperial army --egged on by ignorant neo-con jews in the media--, into the gates of Baghdad, close off their exit routes and engage them in a long and ($3 trillion) costly guerrilla war they can't win.
The second lesson, this dumb general should have learned is that when costs exceed benefits, you abandon the project.
Iraq alone has turned into an economically self-defeating $3 TRILLION debacle and it is a complete waste of America's dwindling resources.
The U.S. domestic economy has completely collapse from the massive debt and deficits to pay for their failed and pointless wars and Americans are now paying the price.
There are no jobs and no income. There is talk of a 'job-loss' recovery (whatever that means) to distract Americans from there worsening plight.
Americans are now scared, their economic anxiety has now turned into widespread panic. It is now just a matter of time before the civil war begins. The lesson for the ignorant and gullible American is that you really can't have guns and butter or in this case guns and health care.
The third lesson that this idiot general will learn is that when the chances of succeeding in a war with Iran is slim to none, it is best not to start a war you can't finish, fail, and thus further exposing American economic, financial, military, political, diplomatic and moral failures.
Remember that the new industrial power is China, America's banker and there is nothing the U.S. can do about it.
It is far better for the U.S. to get rid of israel and warmongering-dual -loyal-jew traitors who are now in the process of precipitating another costly war with Iran that is not in America's interest.
Israel has no economic resources that Americans needs and is nothing but a disgusting parasite that has become a costly financial and economic burden on Americans.
America needs cheap oil from Iran and markets for our exports. We do not need dual jew parasites wrecking our nation further with wars and Ponzi debt scams.
The lesson for the jews will be from time immemorial, the jews are always expelled once they have destroyed the host nation. America will not be the exception.
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by Spies_and_Traitors_will_be_Shot on 07.02.2010 [15:29 ]
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Should be the last thing you are affraid off, you ridiculous pathetic fools with an empire that is tittering on the edge
I give my regards to Syrian, Stop War and Iranian Shi'ite
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