Opinion
Beware Iranian desperation
Alex Fishman
Published: 17.01.12, 10:39
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20 Talkbacks for this article
1. If they do attack first
Castor Troy ,   Los Angeles-USA   (01.17.12)
it will make the whole story more easy for us. Iranians doesn't have any matching airforce to oppose us. With the massive firepower that we can deliver we will soon bring the mullahs on their knees. Afte r all Iran didn't suceed to win over Iraqis after waging a 10 years war against them, and we broke Saddam in less than a week.
2. Iran
larry ,   kibbutz Israel   (01.17.12)
Ha Ha Ha !!!
3. Rubbish! Even Less!
Yakov ,   Tel Aviv   (01.17.12)
This is total and complete rubbish! Worse, it is dangerous and fails to serve us Israeli's. War is death, destruction and sorrow. Iran is based, almost entirely on oil product exports. Complicating this, Iran must import gasoline, since it does not have sufficient refining capacity. Therefore, an economic embargo is more effective, an the resultant internal uprising, will be exactly that, Internal! When Iranian money dries up, so also does Hamas, Hezbollah and most of Gaza. An economic WMD, with all the effects of an attack, but without shedding Jewish blood. I am in-favor of squeezing the Iranian government, till it returns to dust and frees the Persian people.
4. interesting article, but whatever happens...
Mike ,   London, UK   (01.17.12)
A'jad and his crazy mullahs will get what's coming to them in spades - when the Iranian people get their revenge, I hope to have a front seat.
5. History Pearl Harbor
joe Sombrero ,   USA   (01.17.12)
Appeasement breeds Disaster. The Unied States embargoed oil and raw materials against Japan in 1941 the result was Pearl Harbor. Israel has lost her deterance against military and diplomatic isolation. Israels appeasement to the PA and the US on dipllomatic issues and the sanctions could cause Iran to strike first.
6. To: Yakov at No. 3
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (01.17.12)
I am inclined to agree with you with respect to war. However, one cannot overlook the psychological make-up of Iran's leadership. They are fanatical. They will not back down. It is probably an exercise in futility to expect the Iranian people to rise up and reclaim their country. We have seen how ruthless Iran has ordered the Revolutionary Guard to put down peaceful demonstrations. The Iranian people are completely cowed, and the Iranian leadership will try to come out fighting. They won't succeed -- there is a formidable composite of air, land and sea power arrayed against them -- but they are sufficiently delusional as to grasp at straws. Iran must be stopped. Iran will be stopped. It's a question of when, not if. But to expect those in positions of power in Iran to simply back down is not very realistic.
7. What a brilliant thought. Let us then hurry and provide
tom ,   tel aviv   (01.17.12)
financial support to the Iranians so they don't get desperate & kill the World! We cannot have THAT! Maybe we should aid them with our scientific input, so their effort to obtain nuclear weapons bears fruit soon...?
8. they will take three zeros off their currency
joe rechtman ,   causa   (01.17.12)
and everything will be alright
9. To Sarah
Yakov ,   Tel Aviv   (01.17.12)
As always, a good analysis. It is, my belief that when no money exists, there will be no money for the military, no money to buy gas, and the regime will collapse. Essentially, the common thread, to all of the Iranian expansion, is based upon selling oil. Those higher ups, who have nice homes, expensive cars and other luxuries, will face the ire of the typical Iranian, when they begin to starve. Not many agree with me, but it hurts me terribly to think of a single Israeli hurt. At least, put the economic squeeze on them, and strangle Iran as much as is possible, before looking at the military options.
10. Ahmadinejad - Desperate or insane?
Tim ,   Brighton   (01.17.12)
You only have to think back a few days and picture the sight of two giggling Schoolboys Ahmadinejad and Chavez grinning and in hysterics over their Does he or doesnt he - have a nuclear bomb game in front of the entire world - realise that he is quite demented! But this is the tip of the iceberg of rash statements designed to improve his 'macho' image and pursuade Iranians that he is the new messiah So whats Irans chief statesman being saying? Trying to pursuade the world that the Holocaust did not happen, that indeed millions were not killed in WW2, that Persians are a superior race, that the Persian Gulf and all islands in the Gulf belong to Iran, that Shia Islam is the only true Islam, that all Jews are evil, that the USA is the Evil Empire, that Syria and Lebanon are Shia States, that before the world can be purified it must be engulfed in an Armageddon from which Ahmadinejad will emerge as its leader Ho Hum...Not much you can say..other than Surely Iran deserves better!
11. Maybe the mullahs will let their people
Chris Rettenmoser ,   Bayerisch Gmain Germ   (01.17.12)
eat sand, but they NEVER EVER will be forced by peaceful means, to stop their nuke program ! Anyone who thinks otherwise has no idea of what he is talking about !
12. 3 & 9 - That's why I like pipelines so much.
Ypip ,   Canada   (01.17.12)
I agree with Harper.
13. To: Yakov at No. 9
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (01.17.12)
As long as sovereign states put themselves before the greater consideration -- which in this case involves the ability of civilization to survive -- the impact on Iran will be negligible. There must be an agreement among states that they will no longer purchase Iranian oil. The Saudis and Kuwaitis must be pressured into increasing production while maintaining stable pricing. There are other available markets -- Brunei, Nigeria, to name but two -- that can pick up the slack. For that matter, the United States has significant petroleum reserves, and can resume drilling. The key is getting people to realize that the mullahs and ayatollahs and other assorted Iranian "leaders" are quite insane, and must be stopped. The United States and the other Western countries can shut down recalcitrant China rather quickly by refusing to import products of Chinese manufacture and by ceasing to outsource to China, and Japan can be made to import oil from a country such as Brunei (it's closer, anyway).
14. Utopian thinking.
JamesPhiladelphia ,   Philadelphia, usa   (01.18.12)
Russia, China and Japan are not against Iran. They have business or depend on their oil (China ,Japan). is North Korea all over. You can starve your people and have nuclear weapons. Iran is an extremely dangerous regime. Only extreme force will stop Iran. Their regime should have been destroyed a long time ago. Surely is overdue. Ahmadenijad and Ayatollah Khameini know their time is limited and they are finished.
15. @ 1 keep deaming
Sheik Rattle & Roll ,   USA   (01.18.12)
I am no fan of Iran but the coming war could be as long as the Iran-Iraq war. The straights of Hormuz is so narrow and it is not the Iranian Navy that the US fears it is the shore based missiles that Iran has plenty of that will make oil tanker captains reluctant to move plus the fact that Iran will most likely install missiles on ships that resemble civilian vessels making it very difficult for world navies to distinguish friend from foe.
16. #1 you don't get it
israel israeli ,   tel aviv   (01.18.12)
There is no army that can survive a full scale American attack for more than a week, but you should not dismiss the Iranians who are far more intelligent than your current president. Their strength is that they know they are destined to lose an armed conflict. That means they have no choice but to develop nukes as insurance. If a war starts before they have nukes they will have two targets: the world economy to damage American trade interests and the Arab puppet states. Your incompetent president was so filled with hatred for the Jews and his desire to delegitimize Israel that he supported Ahmadinejad's quashing of the Green Revolution and weakened the pro-American Arab regimes. The Iranians hope to use Obama's stupidity so that any conflict will spill over to Pakistan/Afghanistan (teetering on the edge thanks to Obama butchering civilians), North Africa (where Obama installed Islamists instead of the secular Gaddaffi), Egypt and Sinai (where Obama helped the Brotherhood and Hamas fto control advanced US arms and the Suez Canal), Iraq and of course the Saudi apartheid regime.
17. Destroying Iran's nukes will help Iranian opposition.
Chaim ,   Israel   (01.18.12)
Nothing is clearer than the fact that Israel must destroy Iran's nukes. We can't allow the genocidal Mad Mullahs to acquire nukes, which they've threatened to use on us many times. As a side benefit, destroying Iran's nukes will discredit the ruling regime and help the Iranian opposition seize power.
18. A'jad's True Goal
Beth Goodtree ,   NYC, USA   (01.18.12)
This article fails to address A'jad's true goal. He is a religious fanatic and a few years back gave a speech expressing his ultimate goal. A'jad believes in the mahdi -- the Islamic version of a messiah. According to A'jad's version of Islam, the Mahdi won't come until the entire world is involved in war. And so A'jad wants to involve the entire world in war to bring about the coming of the Mahdi. There is no diplomacy or reasoning that can dissuade this type of fanatic.
19. @ #16 I'm concerned that none of us gets it...
Randy ,   Austin, TX   (01.19.12)
Far be it from me to call any sitting US President "stupid," but though both are dangerous, I would prefer "stupid" to "complicite." I'm truely concerned that Obama has a secret agenda that goes way beyond naivete to criminal complicity.
20. Iran know how to tango...
Persian CAT   (01.23.12)
The dance between the US and Iranian navies has gone on for more than 30 years. That's almost half the time of Israel's existence! Iranians have not "panicked" all this time and they are not going to panic now. The US and Iran are talking behind the scenes. Israel's fear is to be left out of deal. That's why it's throwing a tizzy. That's all folks. At the end Israel will beg to be included with its Zionist tail between its legs.
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