Israel to attack Iran after the US election?

what a drag,i'm going to be dead in a few months..

tell Bruce i loved his music...

from the Op-ed - "Every intelligence agency in the world believes the Iranian program is geared toward making weapons, not to the peaceful applications of nuclear power."

TD, why do they need to come to their senses? Did you say the same thing about Iraq when every intelligence agency in the world believed Iraq was geared toward making weapons, not to the peaceful applications of nuclear power? Oh that's right. Bush lied, people died.

I have no problems leaving this into the Israelis capable hands. They've defended themselves quite well since 1948, and will keep doing so.

Actually, Julius, I did say the same thing about Iraq. I favored the war. I just never imagined the incompetence with which it would be waged.

We're doing ok though now, right?

Actually, yes.

TD, with all due respect, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. You're guided by talking-heads who have done nothing but report bad news, continuously, since the invasion of 2003. You read, you watch, you listen - but you have no idea how distorted the picture you've been seeing really is.

To call what our military did over he last 5 years incompetent is asinine. Insurgencies usually last decades. We've wiped it out in a fraction of that time. Did we not see it coming? You bet. Our intelligence was clearly in pieces, left by what the Bubba administration did to it. We had the Chem/Bio/Nuke thing wrong (so did everyone), as well as the Fedayeen problem. But they didn't see the hedgerows in the overhead photos in France either in '44 (complete incompetence), and that caused the death or mutilation of thousands of troops - yet I still forgive Ike. The thing is - and this is what Rumsfeld was absolutely correct on - you fight with the Army you have, and you fight with the intelligence you have.

We had 80,000 casualties between Dec '44 and Feb 45 in Belgium? 80,000. What fucking incompetence, no?

Look, I understand - whatever dig you can get in on the Bush administration between now and eternity, you're going to take. Did they fuck some things up? You bet. But everyone fucks up in warfare. That's what you don't understand - probably because you've never seen it, outside of your plasma tv. The administration, whose policies freed 25,000,000 in Iraq from the tyranny of the Bath party, is ok in my book. The troops, with whom I served, have my eternal respect. And the fallen have my eternal reverence.

When this war is considered by historians - it will be noted that for the first time in the history of warfare, a solely volunteer force removed a dictator and restored a democracy to a nation. No other war in history can be compared to what just occured. Even in the midst of it, thousands of its own re-newed their volunteer contract with the force, not compelled by the state or master, but by their own desire to change the world for the better. Vietnam? Nothing like Iraq. Korea? Nothing like Iraq. WWII, nothing like it. I'm proud to have been a part of it, and a part of the brotherhood that overcame what looked like a lost war just a very short time ago. I'm so grateful that the CINC didn't turn and run, as was advised by the current junior senator from Illinois not long ago. I'm so grateful that the Speaker came to her senses and realized what a catastrophe it would be to turn tail. And I'm so grateful that we have the leadership in office today who stood his ground and listened, really listened, to the commanders on the ground who said, "we can win this, and this is how." The political heat 18 months ago was tremendous - and he said "I don't care - we're going to win."

It's time for the purple thumb again....

Sorry to burst your bubble, but my father was career military. I grew up surrounded by military culture and officers. I know that today the vast majority of them think Bush botched the job badly.

My dad worked in marketing for 36 years.

I couldn't sell you a pair of pants if my life depended on it.

Surrounded by the culture is not being a part of it. But I'm sure you enjoyed the dinners at the club.

You have no idea what the vast majority of officers believe. They'll vote for McCain overwhelmingly.

Well, the bible did give you a little "heads up"...

psst...he probably doesn't read that part.

Of course they'll vote for McCain. He's one of them. And they share his opinion that Bush did a terrible job in Iraq for years.

Back to the point.

As Benny Morris pointed out, they would need US assistance. Also, he notes it seems unlikely that Israel can attack Iran without starting a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and having Iran let loose it's terrorist network all around the world.

I just don't see them wanting that to happen and Israelis would not support that.

Also, there is no way Israel is going to be the second country to use nukes without being attacked.

I think the OP-Ed is a put up job by Mossad and CIA, to make the Iranians aware of the possible outcomes of their stupidity.

Now if we did not depend on all that damn oil, we could just blockade the Straits of Hormuz and starve them out and cause an uprising in Iran.

Nice try. But you're ignoring a very simple fact. Military officers have supported GOP candidates overwhelmingly since the 1980s - like by a 90-10 margin. Enlisted is closer to 60-40.

Having spent a great deal of time in the middle east, I am all for an energy policy that renders the the entire region completely useless. Go nuke.

Could we at least bury the nuke waste in Iraq? At least show something for our invasion. The spent rods would remind them that they better behave or we will be back....again....and again....and again.