Missile Tests And Bluster From Iran

The Nation: There Won't Be War In Iran

(The Nation)  This column was written by Robert Dreyfuss.

---

Iran is in the news again today, with reports that it has test-fired missiles with a range of 1,200 miles. "Our hands are always on the trigger and our missiles are ready for launch," blustered a general from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. That sent oil prices up again. It also fueled the debate about the Bush Administration's plan to put missiles in Eastern Europe. And it caused more speculation about a U.S. and/or Israeli preemptive strike against Iran. I'm not worried.

Iranian President Ahmadinejad doesn't seem to be worried, either, since he referred to such threats as a "funny joke." He added, "I assure you that there won't be any war in the future." Funny or not, Iran also threatened to set Israel "on fire" and to close down the Persian Gulf outlet if Iran were attacked. Still, I'm not worried.

Last week, in The Dreyfuss Report, I wrote about the comments of Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said clearly that the United States is not planning war with Iran and doesn't want one.

Now, via ArmsControlWonk, we learn that Tony Cordesman, a sober, realist-minded conservative analyst, was in Israel last week, and had this to say:

"Cordesman is visiting Israel this week, and gave a lecture yesterday at Tel Aviv University and at Hebrew University on Sunday. He talked about Mullen's comments last week in Washington when the Admiral said such an Israeli attack would be dangerous and could destabilize the Middle East. Mullen spoke after returning from a visit to Israel, during which he met with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and other senior IDF officers."

Cordesman said Mullen came to Israel to deliver a message - that Israel did not have a green light to attack Iran and that it would not receive U.S. support for such a move.
According to Cordesman, Mullen was expressing the official opinion of the U.S. administration, including that of President George W. Bush and the National Security Council.

There can't be any attack on Iran. First, the United States and its allies now find it impossible to blame Iran for supporting terrorism in Iraq since Iraq is relatively quiet. (In fact, I believe Iran is working hard behind the scenes to damp down intra-Shiite fighting, persuading Muqtada al-Sadr to behave himself, and pushing Nouri al-Maliki's government to start talking about an American military withdrawal.) Second, the United States can't credibly use Iran's nuclear program as a pretext for an attack. That rationale was demolished by the CIA last year, via the National Intelligence Estimate that Iran had stopped work on a bomb in 2003. And now Iran is signalling its readiness to negotiate, saying talk will begin within days:

Iran expects talks on its disputed nuclear program to begin within days, a senior Iranian official said in remarks published on Wednesday.

"Now the West has accepted to start negotiations with Iran and this is the best way," Mohammad Saeedi said when asked about possible talks with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. "Our diplomacy is based on negotiations."

Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying: "Talks will start in the next few days and at that time many issues will become clear."

In my opinion, progressives ought to worry a lot more about the real wars we're fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, not the one we aren't going to have with Iran.

[tksk53]

TO DSKDUKE2
I DON''T NEED TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE YOU DID A GOOD JOB

[nskduke2]

Posted by ainttaken

pure puke....every word of it
when did America become a wuss over war? since began starting them...
"A real American stands by his/her country no matter what happens"
America doesnt stand by a crooked president that his been this country''''s worst enemy so you can take your "no matter what happens" and shove it up your facistrectum.
The Iraq war has been an exercise in imperialism and profit and nothing more. Dont hand me this defense of reedom *****. Even the Iraqis want a timetable now something our war criminal president is now denying and assuming his position as the next saddam.

A timetable is about the lamest thing you can possible do. Thats like going up to the line in a football game and telling your opponents what play you are going to run. You never never never tell the enemy when you are leaving. I don''t support the president on every issue, but the last time I check the polls, Congress has a lower rating then Bush.
America became a wuss when people started dying in war. Freedom is not free, it has its price. Ainttaken you make it seem like if we lose a life in a war its not worth it, even if it means protecting our freedom and the freedom other countries. You ainttaken don''t give a *** about America. If you think freedom doesn''t has its price then you are really an idiot. Ainttaken who the heck is profiting from this war, not us. Calling me a fascist just because I support America, ok you socialist freak. Just for the record I support Democracy.

[talkingham]

Gee, I wonder who will be the first Iranian on the Moon. After we got the Shah of Iran deposed back prior to and during the Carter Admin I guess the geniuses like George Daddy Bush who ran the CIA for a while figured thosely lowly Islamics would never be a problem. Well (chuckle), how right they were.

And now the Weather Channel does a special on how it was a weather event that caused the hostage rescue mission (by our great Delta Force) to fail. Thank God for the weather, they would have probably all been killed or captured if the drove into to downtown Iran.

Now Iran has missiles and the current saber rattling and perhaps an air strike in Iran will raise our well prepared nation''s price of gas up to $6/gal or more by this time next year.

Why even have an election? Let''s just name the Great Decider our King and stop wasting all this time and effort to elect losers to the presidency. Why change anything, Bush is always right (well most of the time!).

Bob Dornan a chickenshit who never served? "Dornan, at age 19, volunteered for service in the United States Air Force. After earning his silver wings, Dornan went on to serve as a fighter pilot with the world%u2019s first supersonic jet fighter wing. In 1958, Dornan left active duty and joined the California Air National Guard as an F-86 Sabrejet pilot and an intelligence officer, achieving the rank of captain. He survived two F-86 Sabrejet emergency parachute ejections as well as a smooth "dead stick" forced-landing of a flamed out F-100 "Supersabre" on a desert (neither was pilot error) dry lakebed.

Dornan has piloted every aircraft in the U.S. military arsenal, including the B-2 "Spirit," B-1 "Lancer," U-2 , SR-71 "Blackbird," AV-8 "Harrier," and F-15E "Eagle" as well as the Israeli "Kfir,%u2019 and Israeli F-15 and F-16, the British "Tornado" "Harrier," and "Hawk," and the French "Mirage." In 1994 Dornan flew with the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds."

[rwassel]

Gunfighter51 - with words like "remaote" and "puntuation", YOU seem to have the SPELLING capacity of a 3rd-grader.

And judging by your screen-name, and your bloodlust to go to war, I''ll assume you are all signed up with the military, and ready to depart for Iran?

Face it, neo-con, the age of "cowboy" diplomacy is over. It has failed - we are still in Iraq, which has cost us over a trillion dollars and sent this country into recession, AND Afghanistan is now more of a haven for terroists than before we went in.

[juwboy]

Blue Dastard:

I''ll refer you to my posting at 5.38AM in the

"Rice: US Will Defend Israel From Iran"

report.

[gunfighter51]

ainttaken,
You seem to have the vocabulary and puntuation of a 3rd grader, how much creativity did it take to come up with that name?
You best add a bunch of wimpocrats to your list as they voted right along with the rest of us.
Maybe you need to go back to your smoke-in at Boulder.

[gunfighter51]

I hate to tell this to you panty wearing liberals, this problem will be taken care of before there''s even a remaote chance that BHO ever sets foot in the White House.
Just proceed to your bunker and close your eyes, and we''ll take care of the problem for you, so that way you can save the planet or what ever else you idiots want to do.

[joyous88]

right on aintaken!

the same draft dodgers that help perpetuate the lost and tragic debacle in vietnam are right here today helping perpetuate the lost and tragic debacle in Iraq.

war mongers, criminals, UnAmerican neocons

[nskduke2]

There is a time for war and there is a time for diplomacy. Now lets look the situation, Iran doesn''t want diplomacy and they don''t give a *** about sanctions. So war would almost be an option. If Israel starts a war with Iran we most support them. The UN has failed time after time to prevent this from happening.

Since when did the US become a wuss when it comes to war. I hate war but honest to god what is wrong with this country. Yes people do die in war, but they die trying to protect our freedom in this country and in other countries. I can''t remember the last war we fought where no one died. The truth is it will never happen. Freedom has its price. I hope Israel beats the *** out of Iran and if Isreal needs help, I hope we back them up 100%. The Iranian president is like the second Hitler, he just wants to chaos hell in this world. All the middle east countries want to annihilate Isreal just because they exist.
A real American stands by his/her country no matter what happens. Change will happen in this country but will change affect the way we protect our freedom.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
-JFK"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."-JFK

[nskduke2]

There is a time for war and there is a time for diplomacy. Now lets look the situation, Iran doesn''t want diplomacy and they don''t give a *** about sanctions. So war would almost be an option. If Israel starts a war with Iran we most support them. The UN has failed time after time to prevent this from happening.

Since when did the US become a wuss when it comes to war. I hate war but honest to god what is wrong with this country. Yes people do die in war, but they die trying to protect our freedom in this country and in other countries. I can''t remember the last war we fought where no one died. The truth is it will never happen. Freedom has its price. I hope Israel beats the *** out of Iran and if Isreal needs help, I hope we back them up 100%. The Iranian president is like the second Hitler, he just wants to chaos hell in this world. All the middle east countries want to annihilate Isreal just because they exist.
A real American stands by his/her country no matter what happens. Change will happen in this country but will change affect the way we protect our freedom.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
-JFK"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."-JFK

[forasongca]

Given that Iran claims to have launched more and larger missiles than it apparently did, maybe Tehran is suffering from "missile envy" and worrying about premature detonation...

[Syndicate]

There won''t be a war because it will cost to much. We won''t start it because of the price. They won''t start it because we will win. I think what you are seeing now is posturing. Iran is trying to be as defiant as possible to get the best deal possible during negotiations. I also think Iran is trying to keep oil prices up while we are trying to suppress them. frankly Iran can pretty much get anything they want. All they have to do is give up the ability to make a nuclear bomb that they probably don''t really want. Imagine trading the ability to build nukes for diplomatic recognition, the latest technology, Nuclear energy....Seems like a sweet deal. Of course we could just let them build the bomb. Tighten sanctions so that nothing gets in and nothing gets out. No oil. No medicine. Nothing. We also have to inform them that they will be wiped off the map (literally) if they ever use it. Call it the Assured Destruction policy. Kinda like MAD except it would not be mutual.

[bluestardad]

SEND RICE ROVE AN THE NEOCON BUSHIT BOYS TO FIGHT FOR ISRAEL!

AMERICA IS DONE DOING THEIR DIRTY WORK!

START WAR CRIMES TRIALS FOR THE IRAQ WAR!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[rwassel]

zgomer -

Wow, what a brilliant post. The name-calling and bigoted statements really get your point across. You are doing a great job perpetuating the stereotype that all right-wingers are nothing more than ignorant bigots with the intellectual capacity of a 4 year-old.

I suppose you''re just going to take your ball and go home, huh?

[joyous88]

12 years of miundless conservative rule, R Reagan started the downfall of America, and GW Bush the first and hopefully the last FASCIST president of the united states finished turning the US into a banana
republic,

republicons are criminals, UnAmerican criminals

[clestes-2009]

joyous88,

The power has shifted in shrub''s admin away from those who want war to those who do not. In the first admin, those who did had the presidents ear. In this one, they do not.

Why do you think they are so hysterical? Because they see their time in power running out and their agenda for turning the middle east into a fireball unfinished. If you look at shrub''s second term all those armchair cowards are gone with the exception of Cheney. And he is trapped in his VP wing. He is not welcome in Congress, nor at the Pentagon, nor at the CIA nor much of anywhere outside the US. His influence has been on the wane for years now and he is left with unfinished dreams for him and nightmares for us.

[clestes-2009]

PVperson,

shrub may not care about what is best for the US, but he does care about his legacy. There will be no attack.

[clestes-2009]

The shrub admin has 3 very powerful people who are adamently against attacking Iran. Robt Gates, the Sec of Defense, Mike Muellen head of the Joint Chiefs and Rice, the Sec of State.

No matter what Cheney or Elliot or anyone else says, what these guys thinks matter. And they won''t be changing their minds anytime soon either.

Furthermore, Muellens trip to Israel last week was to tell them that the US would NOT support any military action against Iran and they are on their own if they decide to attack.

A bunch of pysch warfare going on, that''s all.

[clestes-2009]

Big hullaboo about nothing. There won''t be any war this year or next if it comes to that.