Iran Next target?

I remember how Iraq suddenly became an issue, overnight, after 911. They snuck it into the media slowly, then before you knew it Iraq was our target, that was our war, not Afganistan.Now, the same sort of swelling seems to be happening around Iran.What do you guys think? Do you think this administration is gearing up for more war?

I dunno.Even Bush has got to be reluctant to start a war with no international backing at all (our government has already said there won't be a war in Iran) while still heavily committed to two existing conflicts (I know you've got a huge military but 140,000 is not a small number even for you) and facing big economic problems and a spiralling budget defecit.But if the Republicans win the next election too...

Well, I remember from last time that everybody kept saying "it won't come to it... it won't come to it..." because it suddenly became an issue. My question is what will prevent another overnight issue? We all know that Bush is very willing to go ahead with anything with little to no support from other nations. We also have an even bigger republican bubble in the congress, so what would prevent another "blitzkrieg" like last time? Also, I'm not so sure Iran could be the next target. It could be any number of countries out there. Remember that Iraq suddenly became an issue overnight.

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Hate world.Revenge soon!

We simply don't have the troops. "W" was able to get away with it in Iraq 'cause we weren't committed anywhere else in a big way. Now with 140k troops "pinned down" in Iraq, and with the other half rotated to the US to lick their wounds, there aren't enough "grunts" left.And Iran knows that. OH WAIT! "W" could re-institute the Draft!BTW - With several dozen young men (and women) of service age who are children of U.S. congressmen, doesn't it strike you as a bit odd that none of them are in uniform?(:raig

I still say that another draft is a long way from occurring. I mean seriously, I don't even think the most greedy of the greedy of either party would want to go that far, not to mention it would be political suicide.

I agree totally, Glordag.So, faced with Iran's push to develope an honest-to-God NUKE within a year or two, Bush would have to resort to *GASP* DIPOLMACY!.He might even have to go the that den of EVIL, the U.N., the same folks he told to go to Hell before the war and demand ECONOMIC SANCTIONS!WOE BE UNTO Bush! Economic sanctions! Diplomacy! He'd even have to lower himself to use his STATE DEPARTMENT. Can it get any worse???(:raig

Although in terms of numbers Bush probably doesn't need the help of other nation (what do I mean 'probably'!) but the US would find it very, very difficult to launch an attack on a nation on the other side of the world without the logistical support of other nations and, in some situations, the specialist troops of (in particular) Australia and the UK.It's all very well having bombs, planes and troops but you need to get them to where you're going to invade.

I don't think that even Bush is stupid enough to attack Iran because Iran actually has nuclear weapons.Iraq had little means to defend itself against our invasion force, and no capacity at all to attack the US mainland.

Where'd you get your info, Schrafinator? From the same folks who told us about the WMDs in Iraq?(:raig

Hey Yaro,I don't think we can handle another war within the next two years.I think it's highly unlikely we will use aggresive force against another nation within the next 4 years, but who knows what could happen between now and then? Terrorists could set off a mini-A bomb in another major city, China could invade Taiwan, and we could discover that all those WMD's that Saddam was supposed to possess got transported to Syria or Iran and buried. Ain't no tellin'.I think we are gearing up for war again since we should always be ready, but I don't think Bush would invade another nation unless something really big happened to push us into it again.

There is one paramount factor that must be considered in any possible attack on Iran, and that is China. Those two nations are very closely allied, they are each the other's prime trading partner, and Iran is one of the largest consumers of China's burgeoniong manufacturing and arms industries. Also, Iran is China's main source of oil. You might think of China/Iran as analogous to America/Saudia Arabia.It is very possible China would intervene if America moved on Iran. All other considerations aside, militarily the US would want no part of a conflict with China, especially a land based one in Asia.This message has been edited by mikehager, 11-05-2004 11:10 PM

Ooo. Good point.