Syria conflict: 'Chemical attacks kill hundreds'

[Armistead]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Seriously. My understanding is that in the view of Iran/Russia, we are pretty much a joke because our government has lost any resemblance of credibility.

Sure Obama will do one last apology tour before he leaves office.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Armistead

Sure Obama will do one last apology tour before he leaves office.

Some things just won't die.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...k-obama-began/

Our ruling

Once again, Romney has accused Obama of beginning his presidency "with an apology tour."

Our reviews of Obama’s 2009 foreign travels and speeches showed no such thing. While he criticized past U.S. actions, such as torture practices at Guantanamo, he did not offer one apology.

It’s ridiculous to call Obama’s foreign visits and remarks "an apology tour." We rate this statement Pants on Fire!

[Tchocky]

Hardly. Economic sanctions have severely weakened the Iranian economy, perhaps to the extent of affecting the recent election. These sanctions would not be in place without the US pushing.

Not without credibility. Iran talks a tough line about the US, but that is for domestic consumption.

As for Russia it's hard to say. The Snowden mess has soured relations sure, but even there Putin is tired of the standoff.

[Ducimus]

I don't know. Something about 16 trillion in debt, and hitting our debt ceiling again next month makes me seriously doubt that we can afford another conflict. In the short term, yeah they'll run up the governmental credit card again, but it won't take long for collections to start calling in the aftermath.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

Hardly. Economic sanctions have severely weakened the Iranian economy, perhaps to the extent of affecting the recent election. These sanctions would not be in place without the US pushing.

Not without credibility. Iran talks a tough line about the US, but that is for domestic consumption.

As for Russia it's hard to say. The Snowden mess has soured relations sure, but even there Putin is tired of the standoff.

I certainly don't see Iran doing anything, not officially, they'll send arms and stuff but they won't declare war on the US, I doubt even the Ayatollah is that mad.
Putin on the other hand, has absolutely no reason to trust the US, or give in to its demands, he will block any UNSC resolution and will force the US to go around the UN to act, if it's going to act, which will discredit the US more than going through the UN.
Honestly it's really hard to tell, as you say, just how far Russia will go for its Syrian ally, they've cancelled weapons sales, so it could be that they're trying to find a diplomatic position to push the US away from strikes, but if they are then they're being far too subtle about it for the western world to pick up...but then, we've never been particularly good at understanding Russia.

[Skybird]

Iran does not just deliver supplies and weapons, but has commandos and RG fighters operating both in Lebanon and Syria, plus conventional (and if one interprets Israel's signals: chemical) engineers as well. Iran will happily welcome any opportunity to distract attention form their nuclear weapons program, may it be by pouring those sweet words into Western ears that our diplomats would like to hear, may it be by creating a big bad mess somewhere else. The new Iranian president is misperceived by some as being willing to "negotiate" the nuclear bomb (in fact he supports and always has supported the nuclear weapon agenda as determined as the other candidates do since always, he just is smart enough to avoid provoking the West at every opportunity like the little chimp before him used to do - this is what t makes the new president far more dangerous than the earlier one), and he helps that impression by making sweet, sweet comments, oh yes, sooo sweeeet. Give diplomacy a new chance! These optimists will once again get shattered when they impact on the concrete bottom of ME reality once the flight phase of their LSD trip is over.

Regarding Hezbollah and Lebanon, and Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia already are in a hot proxy war. Since many years.

Israel will take note of the new American weakness in determination and leadership, and rate Obama's comments that he would not hesitate to strike Iran if it gets "too close" to the nuclear bomb accordingly.

I think Obama is wildly determined to never decisively strike Iran no matter what, and would willingly accept a nuclear armed Iran instead of preventing it.

Eggdancer. Somebody should give him some tapdancing shoes.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Skybird

I think Obama is wildly determined to never decisively strike Iran no matter what, and would willingly accept a nuclear armed Iran instead of preventing it.

Economic sanctions and Stuxnet must have happened by accident then.

[Oberon]

I think if Obama did militarily strike Iran, given how much the American people are against war in general at the moment, particularly if American soldiers have to go on the ground (which they probably would), then he would probably become the most unpopular president since Nixon and would be impeached and/or shot.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

Economic sanctions and Stuxnet must have happened by accident then.

None of that was/is decisive, their centrifuges are fixed and more numerous than ever. They just wait for the right moment to start the final sprint to the rescuing finishing line, slowly creeping forward to silentloy reduce that final distance.

And it certainly is not decisive enough to make them seriously consider to give up the bomb. And why should they? Things are going well for them, they only got delayed a bit, but not really stopped, nor struck. While people like you endlessly babble with them, they have gotten the time to move more and more parts of their program facilities beyond reach of conventional airstrikes.

On a bad day one would call that kind of "diplomacy" conspiration with the enemy.

[Mr Quatro]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Iran does not just deliver supplies and weapons, but has commandos and RG fighters operating both in Lebanon and Syria, plus conventional (and if one interprets Israel's signals: chemical) engineers as well.

Iran will happily welcome any opportunity to distract attention form their nuclear weapons program, may it be by pouring those sweet words into Western ears that our diplomats would like to hear, may it be by creating a big bad mess somewhere else.

The new Iranian president is misperceived by some as being willing to "negotiate" the nuclear bomb (in fact he supports and always has supported the nuclear weapon agenda as determined as the other candidates do since always, he just is smart enough to avoid provoking the West at every opportunity like the little chimp before him used to do - this is what t makes the new president far more dangerous than the earlier one), and he helps that impression by making sweet, sweet comments, oh yes, sooo sweeeet.

Give diplomacy a new chance! These optimists will once again get shattered when they impact on the concrete bottom of ME reality once the flight phase of their LSD trip is over.

Regarding Hezbollah and Lebanon, and Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia already are in a hot proxy war. Since many years.

Israel will take note of the new American weakness in determination and leadership, and rate Obama's comments that he would not hesitate to strike Iran if it gets "too close" to the nuclear bomb accordingly.

I think Obama is wildly determined to never decisively strike Iran no matter what, and would willingly accept a nuclear armed Iran instead of preventing it.

You sure seem to know a lot are you just a normal person?

How's your track record on these boards?

Just one negative comment (no real mud slinging here) I don't think you know what President Obama is really thinking or what he would really do, but worth jotting down what you think the new Iranian president will do

[Tchocky]

It's a very poor argument to say we shouldn't do anything now because we didn't act in similar situations in the past.

[Sammi79]

Just heard on Al-Jazeera English live stream, Sweden will grant permanent residency to ALL Syrian refugees who make it there. Can't find a link anywhere else yet it was an interview with a humanitarian worker.

So at least one nation is following a 'moral imperative' as Aktungbby put it.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Sammi79

Just heard on Al-Jazeera English live stream, Sweden will grant permanent residency to ALL Syrian refugees who make it there.

...

[MH]

....rabidly militant Israel

If you people keep guns just because someone might steal your TV and deny you watching soap operas or exciting news on Syria wonder how militant you would get in ME east.

Seriously though ...What?



back to headlines....

[Sammi79]

Originally Posted by Skybird

...

OK some of the papers have it now, Sky.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news...ectid=11119144

http://www.canada.com/news/Sweden+re...607/story.html