Comments | caspian_x: of nukes and knowledge

caspian_x

of nukes and knowledge

Dec 10, 2007 13:21

By now, everyone knows about the 2003 NIE that said Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program.

And if you watch the news or walk the blogosphere a bit, it's clear everyone is convinced that this is the correct intelligence and that the Bush Administration simply is looking for excuses to go to war with Iran.

Everyone, that is, except the British ( Read more... )

iran, war, politics

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The ever-quotable Ron Paul resk December 10 2007, 20:11:42 UTC

What do you make of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current U.S. posturing toward Iran?

He's a loudmouth, and he hurts their cause. But we help his cause when we gang up against him. When we pass sanctions against him, the dissidents in Iran who would like to get rid of him rally around him for nationalistic reasons.

We get hysterical over a guy who doesn't have a single weapon, and nobody's proven that he's ever violated the arms-nonproliferation treaty. Matter of fact, the International Atomic Energy Agency is going to have an agreement with him by the end of the year. That's why you have all of this warmongering going on: It is to try to find an excuse to start bombing him before they prove that he doesn't have a chance of having a weapon. That's exactly what we did with Iraq. I'm scared to death they're getting ready to do that with Iran.

The Bush administration says Iran is supporting the Iraqi insurgency. How much can we trust that assessment?

About as much as what we heard about Iraq before the war. What was true about that? Very, ( ... )

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ubersaurus December 10 2007, 21:39:40 UTC

So if none of us know what the hell we're talking about, why did you make the post in the first goddamn place?

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up caspian_x December 10 2007, 21:45:57 UTC

That's the whole point! Everyone is acting like this 2003 NIE is the end-all, be-all evidence that Bush is lying about Iran and just war-mongering when in actuality it means very little because

A) The Brits think it's incorrect
2) Other intel has come out since then
C) People are oversimplifying what the NIE said.

In actuality, none of us know what the hell is going on so speaking about the 2003 NIE as if it's Bush's diary stating that he's making up information is asinine.

Btw, I was saying none of us know what we're talking about with regards to military decisions, not about the NIE, but it's fairly applicable there too.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ubersaurus December 10 2007, 21:47:20 UTC

But that didn't answer my question :P for all we know the British are way off themselves, and we got it right. Why even write about it?

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up caspian_x December 10 2007, 21:48:21 UTC

Because people are acting like the NIE proves something. It doesn't.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ubersaurus December 10 2007, 21:48:49 UTC

And thus by definition, neither does your British intelligence.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up caspian_x December 10 2007, 21:50:09 UTC

It proves that the matter is not as simple as people are making it out to be.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ubersaurus December 10 2007, 21:48:29 UTC

Incidentally, I don't trust Israel with nuclear weapons more than I would trust Iran. Israel's ran by some damn hawkish people.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up resk December 10 2007, 22:13:30 UTC

Rest up, Caspian.

Tomorrow you get a brand new asshole.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ikkarus01 December 10 2007, 21:38:24 UTC

Yup, pretty much.

It makes me a little sad that you probably don't even know why that statement is so very eyeroll-worthy.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up caspian_x December 10 2007, 21:47:27 UTC

It makes me a little sad that the comparison of us using depleted uranium weaponry to Iran developing nukes is seen as anything but absurd, which is why I chose to say "Yup, pretty much" instead of going into a dissertation on why that's like comparing a mosquito bite to murder.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ikkarus01 December 10 2007, 21:49:26 UTC

Not surprisingly, you took his point far too literally.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up caspian_x December 10 2007, 21:52:25 UTC

He said, "It's okay for US, but not for THEM."

"It" for us was something VERY VERY DIFFERENT than it was for THEM.

If pointing out that we're comparing apples to apple trees is taking it far too literally, then, yes I took it far too literally.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ikkarus01 December 10 2007, 22:02:26 UTC

Which is what I just said. You took the point he was making far too literally. Thanks? For agreeing? I guess.

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up caspian_x December 10 2007, 22:05:53 UTC

Ok then, what was the figurative point I was supposed to glean from saying it's okay for us to use depleted uranium but for Iran to build nuclear weapons?

Re: Depleted Uranium: Look It Up ikkarus01 December 10 2007, 22:14:32 UTC

Take your pick:

A) Considering what we as a country are willing to do, what qualifies us to judge anyone else as "responsible"?
B) We are not the very definition of Good that you seem to blindly believe.
C) Maybe we should get our own house in order before we go telling other people what to do.
D) We apply a double-standard to the entire rest of the world that is becoming less true by the day: "Because we're America and we're the Good Guys, that's why."

Shall I continue?

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