Well, Iran's behavior is crazy enough that folks on most of the political spectrum can agree that they are being jerks. It doesn't make for the most hilarious of cartoons, however. . . .
Dude, does anyone remember that we (the US) captured a bunch of Iranian personnel - including diplomats - under dubious circumstances back in December and January? We still have them, and there are no plans to release them.
I'm not trying to be an Iran apologist here. Quite the opposite. I think that if they captured those sailors in response to what happened to their personnel, it was an exceptionally dumb escalation. It's not likely to get the Americans to release anyone, and in that sense the Iranians may have bitten off a good deal more than they can chew. Giving America a causus belli at a time like this was just stupid.
But let's not pretend that their action came from nowhere. If we're going to resort to kindergarten politics by whining about how those meanies don't play nice, let's at least remember who started what.
I wouldn't go anywhere near that far. I dount there is such a thing as a war on Iran's terms either now or later, and I do think that the Iranians realize that, much to the credit of their foreign policy establishment.
That's why I tend to read this as a fuck-up, a bad misreading of the situation. It might have been born from feeling backed against a wall, but I wouldn't interpret that as a considered strategy to force America's hand.
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I'm not trying to be an Iran apologist here. Quite the opposite. I think that if they captured those sailors in response to what happened to their personnel, it was an exceptionally dumb escalation. It's not likely to get the Americans to release anyone, and in that sense the Iranians may have bitten off a good deal more than they can chew. Giving America a causus belli at a time like this was just stupid.
But let's not pretend that their action came from nowhere. If we're going to resort to kindergarten politics by whining about how those meanies don't play nice, let's at least remember who started what.
Anyway, this analyst said it better than I could:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37160
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That's why I tend to read this as a fuck-up, a bad misreading of the situation. It might have been born from feeling backed against a wall, but I wouldn't interpret that as a considered strategy to force America's hand.
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Yay for peaceful reconcilliations!
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