I learned a long time ago that when people who don’t have access to highly classified intelligence about an issue like this one prattle on about what they think is happening, or is likely to happen, they tend to get it wrong. But the debate over Iran’s nuclear program has become so feckless — so disconnected from reality — that perhaps it’s time to inject a dose of what those of us who served on the national security side of the Reagan administration used to call “real-world intelligence.”
[…]
Of course Iran is building a nuclear bomb; the evidence is obvious and overwhelming. The only purpose of those leaked National Intelligence Estimates asserting that Iran hasn’t actually made the decision to build a nuclear bomb, and of similar leaked documents from European intelligence services, is to prevent what the analysts fear would happen. They’re afraid that if they officially judge Iran to be on the verge of having a nuclear bomb, political pressure for a military attack will become irresistible. They want to delay action until it’s too late, so we will be left with no choice except to live with a nuclear-armed Iran.
h/t Rob
Have just read that Obama has refused to meet with Netanyahu while he is in the USA. Apparently Obama’s schedule just does not allow for the time. Iran is getting ready to attempt to wipe Israel off the map along with all the other horrors that would come out of that scenario and Obama is too busy. Leadership my a….! This does not bode well.
… Obama is too busy. Leadership my a….! annie
Obama is missing more than half of the daily intelligence briefings – the Presidential Daily Brief _ provided by various agencies. ( GWB attended nearly every one. )
When you combine that with the fact that he has spent far more time on the golf course than he has meetings on the economy, it’s kind of hard to see exactly what the Obama presidency has been about, outside of the non-stop demagogery, and of course the golf.
Neville Chamberlain would have approved our course of action. Winston…..not so much.
Obama is on-side with the fundamentalists. Both are functionally totalitarian, ie, socialism is a totalitarian ideology since it requires collective behaviour rather than individual freedom. Obama is a socialist who rejects individual freedom; Islamism is a dogma that rejects individual freedom.
Notice also, how Obama rejects Congress. Since it won’t rubber stamp His Will, he rejects it and rules by Executive Fiat.
Obama has enabled Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Iran’s ambitions are not merely against Israel as they are about the control of the whole region. That includes Syria, which gives it vital access to the Mediterranean and Turkey and Europe, as well as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
He has also enabled Russia to move into the zone, onside with Iran.
Aren’t there still some sane minds in the US government that see what is going on?
That arse lifter sniffer, Obama is 10 times worse than Neville Chamberpot.
It would never cross Obama’s mind that anything that happens outside of the USA matters very much.
What matters is re-election, people jumping to their feet when he walks in a room, and accumulating enough money so that he and his wife, his children, and his children’s children will all pass through this veil of tears farting through silk.
Once again I had to check my initial reaction to suggest bombing Iran and refer back to Ron Paul’s wisdom.
Leave Iran alone. Lift the sanctions. Stay out of Iran’s internal business. It’s natural for Iran to want nuclear missiles given how many other countries in the region have them. The US survived for decades under threat of a Soviet nuclear attack.
I think it goes without saying that Israel should also be free from US influence to respond to Iran however they feel that they must. The US must honor existing treaties, but they do not have to insert themselves into every potential conflict before a declaration of war is made.
Obama promised to meet Iran without pre-conditions.
He said so during the 2008 election.
He said this. No one questioned him. No one refused to vote for him on this issue alone.
Iran is in a demographic spiral with one of the lowest birthrates in the Islamic world. It is a mad, theocratic state that cannot refine its oil and keep its people heated and with light. Yet, they have the power and the will to use a nuclear weapon against Israel.
When Canada finally decides its time to leave and the US dithers, it should be red alert for the entire globe.
Dan S. –
So a US president should willingly subject the people of the US to the risk of a nuclear armed Iran, rather than act now to end that threat? Sorry, but only Obama would be so irresponsible as to let that happen. One suitcase nuke detonated in a US city is one too many.l
Scary times when we have a appeasing useless President…scary times indeed.!
As for the author of that article..excellent piece that I for one wholly believe and understand. Been around long enough to have read enough that whackos that control a country almost always say and eventually do what they say they want to do. Iran gets Nukes..I have seen nothing to convince me that they’ll hold off on using them against Irael. Welcome to Armageddon… brought to you by Mr. Iminadinnerjacket and friends.
I see Dec 12, 2012 in a rather different light these days…eh.?
People are waking up. Once this Muslim president is gone, people will find they are having a nightmare. Obama lulls folks into thinking there is no problem when everyday we are bombarded with Islams arrogance, violence , insurgency if not out right infiltration. They don’t even hide it anymore.
IMHO I think everyone is overlooking the obvious. Iran gets / has a nuclear weapon. It shoots it at Israel. It misses and blows the sh!t out of one of its sort of allies. How does the world react?
Jim Barker, if I am to understand, Iran miscalculates its nuke and hits- let’s say- Saudi Arabia?
Hhmmm….
How would the world react?
Fork Iran … there is no reason NOT to.
“Jim Barker, if I am to understand, Iran miscalculates its nuke and hits- let’s say- Saudi Arabia?”
Honestly? I’d laugh myself stupid.
Can you imagine, Fred2?
Is there a Hallmark card for that kind of eventuality?
Only one point of disagreement with Meyer’s excellent article. Iran started working on nuclear weapons development more than “a few years ago”. The first equipment for the Natanz enrichment complex was acquired in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hans Blix was Sec. Gen. of the IAEA at the time and was either utterly unaware of it or ignored it.
One other point, Dan’s comment and SCC’s response shows the fatal flaw in Paullist isolationism.
The image of Obama’s lips inserted in the Saudi king’s groin should have been a clear harbinger of the US – Israel relationship.
peterj, you beat me to the Chamberlain comparison although just as Obozo has made Jimmy Carter look like a genius, he also makes Chamberlain look good.
What I can’t understand is why the Russians are siding with the islamofascist lunatics in Iran? Perhaps they figure that by making these morons irritate Israel enough, they’ll pick up Northern Iran once the large sections of molten glass in Iran have cooled sufficiently. Also, if the US is drawn into the war, then the US won’t be able to afford to replace all the smart bombs and cruise missiles that will be expended during the conflict. Considering that the Russian position on islamofascism was clearly delineated in Chechnya, one has to look what Russia stands to gain in the process. Putin is a chess player and Obozo probably couldn’t figure out how to play checkers even if the TOTUS told him how.
The only way that I can see Israel launching an air attack on Iran is to use Iraqi Kurdistan as a staging area given the Israeli lack of air tankers. There are a lot of Iranian Kurds who would like to separate from Iran but Turkey is terrified of having a Kurdish state next to it. Potentially a huge mess made even more complicated by Turkey being a member of NATO. The other alternative the Israeli’s have is to nuke the suspected uranium enrichment sites which would be the least costly in terms of Israeli military casualties.
Probably the best scenario is for the Iranian islamofascists to launch a nuclear missile at Israel which would be brought down by a Patriot missile before it impacts. The Israeli’s would then have carte blanche to nuke every Iranian nuclear installation in response as well as any concentration of islamofascist fanatics. I suspect that Iran already has a nuclear device but hasn’t tested it yet as it would have been picked up by the world seismograph network. Maybe they’re just waiting for a large earthquake in the region to occur so their nuclear test would be buried in the seismic noise.
@ Loki
“What I can’t understand is why the Russians are siding with the islamofascist lunatics in Iran”
The Russians know full well that the USA is the primary reason for their defeat in Afghanistan. They were winning until the US supplied stinger missles and other assorted military hardware to the Taliban. Russia’s inability to use helicopters to resupply and give ground support changed the dynamics of that war very quickly. To them this is payback and I’m sure they enjoy the mess the USA has created for itself, with no victory in sight, no exit strategy and a potential repeat of the Vietnam experience. Russia has been in conflict with the USA since WW2 and would like nothing better than to see the greatest power in the world humiliated. Any enemy of the US will be their friend, although they would never admit it. If you strip away the veneer I think you would see China also gloating at the prospect of a humbled USA. Nothing they would admit to either.
For the life of me I simply cannot fathom the rationale of attacking Israel with a nuclear weapon. Meyer’s article made comparisons to certain insane dictators during the 20th century who acted very badly, however these comparisons are not valid. Hitler’s bad behaviour lead to many military successes and the conquest of large amounts of territory during the early years of WW II. The Nazis could very easily have been the victors had Hitler not decided to take on Russia so early in the game. Adi Amin, although totally whacko, knew full well that he could operate against a defenceless opponent without any outside intervention. The same could be said of Pol Pot and his murderous regime. Had the American aircraft carriers been anchored in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, the treacherous attack by the Japanese could have successfully crippled the US fleet and Japan’s ambitions would have gone unchecked.
Iran is in a much different situation. Any attack on Israel will certainly result in immediate and unfettered retaliation and the Israelis will not wait around for approval or permission from anyone to strike back. The Israelis have the capability and, perhaps more importantly, the will, to rain destruction of horrific proportions on Iran and the same restraint shown when Saddam lobbed missiles into Israel will not be shown again.
The bottom line is that Iran has absolutely nothing to gain by goading Israel into a fight and has everything to lose. Even the lunatics running the show in Tehran have to recognize this fact.
@ Loki;
– As long as the USA is bogged down in the ME the Russians have free rein to re-subvert the Ukraine, Georgia etc.
– Iran has influence in the Muslim territories that used to belong to the Soviet Union. While Russia does not want to occupy these states they still want influence. Iran can help them do that. These are the ‘stans’ countries.
– Not as big a deal anymore but Iran and surrogates, Syria and Lebanon have access to the Med and Indian Ocean.
– Last but not least the Russians want dominance in the supply of energy to Europe. MOre energy is flowing from the ‘stans’ mentioned above and of course Iraq’s oil production is ramping. What is laughable is that the Israelis are developing their gas find in the Med and the Russians have started to cozy up to them as possible export partners to Europe.