Question by Hazbro: Is it time to strike Iran?
How do you feel about pre-emptive strikes? The mullahs in charge of Iran are intent on making their nation a nuclear power in the region. They have just announced deployment of new highly accurate cruise missiles. That they are developing atomic weapons is beyond doubt. Do we sit on our hands as they develop nuclear-tipped cruise missiles? Or do we put an end to the regime while we have still have troops sitting on their borders in Iraq and Afghanistan? Taking Saddam Hussein’s regime down was justified on the basis of global security. Could invading Iran be likewise justified? Do you believe meaningful economic sanctions can be effective when both Russian and China don’t participate? Or would you never be in agreement with pre-emptive action?
FYI, for the smartasses. I’m an Army veteran.
Yes there are harmless well-meaning people in Iran. There were harmless well-meaning people in Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Hussein’s Iraq, as there are in Afghanistan. This will always be true of any nation whose leadership and military are a threat. We have little evidence that these well-meaning people are now or will be in a position to topple the Islamofacists that rule the country and populate the military. The evidence we have is that the regime can and will brutally and successfully oppress the opposition while continuing to impoverish the country with aggressive weapons development and deployment. Had we waited for the decent folk among the German people to overthrow the Third Reich we would all be living in the Third Reich and a number of ethnic groups would either be extinct or be slave races for the Germans. Unfortunately tyrants are not turned aside by prayer or by singing Kum Bah Yah around the campfire while we toast marshmallows.
I think most of you were born before Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait for the purpose of acquiring their oil fields? Saddam Hussein didn’t march into Kuwait alone. This notion that the people are always mere bystanders to a tyrant’s actions is false. Obviously, given the size of the active duty Sepah and Basij military units, a substantial segment of the Iranian population supports the Iranian regime. Iran claims nearly 1 million active duty and over 11 million paramilitary reserves, making it, on paper at least, the largest military force on earth, and one that pervades the society on all levels. It seems like wishful thinking to expect the opposition to toppel this regime.
I attended a declassified briefing that among other topics covered the hardening and dispersal of Iraq’s verified and suspected nuclear facilities. The analysts reported some of the facilities are buried under so many meters of rock and reinforced concrete that we cannot be confident our most powerful non-nuclear bunker busters would work. If a conventional attack failed, then we would have solidified internal support for the regime’s nuclear program without stopping it. And using nukes? Unless we elect Dick Cheney the next president, no U.S. president now or on the horizon will sign off on that. So I think we need to prepare ourselves to face a nuclear-armed Iran that will then become far more belligerent and dangerous than even the pessimists imagine.

Best answer:

Answer by hog b
“It is lucky for leaders that the people are stupid.”
-Adolph Hitler.

As true today, as when he said it, as exemplified by this question.

What do you think? Answer below!