Category Archives: Iran

CONTENTION OF THE DAY – while we speak, envious time will have fled

Should the United States use force to regime-change Iran? No – not today. But should we be ready to use all the elements of national power – diplomatic, informational, military, and economic – to support the reformists, and actively hinder the IRGC in trying to suppress them and brutalize the Iranian people?
Such intervention [...]

Where I refrain from waving the bloody shirt over the Qazali release…

In a popular post at the HotAir Green Room, John Hayward – writing as Doctor Zero – refers to the freeing of Iran-backed Iraqi Shia insurgent Qais Qazali and numerous associates, apparently in exchange for British journalist Peter Moore and the remains of his murdered bodyguards, as an “outrage,” and demands an explanation (emphases in [...]

Ockham’s Razor

The simplest explanation for a phenomenon, ceteris paribus, is to be preferred. Here is my candidate for understanding current American policy regarding Iran:  Barack Obama wants Iran to acquire a a nuclear weapon, indeed several or even many nuclear weapons.  Why?  To teach Israel a lesson and put the fear of God into Israelis.  The President [...]

CONTENTION OF THE DAY – chaotic and in constant flux

[12:53AM Tehran Time]
Confirmed: Multiple reports of protesters clashing with special security forces in front of IRIB, one of the regime’s state broadcasting channels.
Unconfirmed: Special regime forces trying to disperse the crowd in front of the IRIB building, but so far they have been unsuccessful.
More reports of casualties coming in from various areas of Tehran and [...]

Stopping Iran’s nuclear program, more on the current thinking…

“How to Stop Iran” is the title of a column by Olivier Debouzy that appeared in the WSJ 10 day ago.  Debouzy is apparently a very well-connected French defense intellectual. It’s worth reading his entire article to absorb his reasoning, but I’ll cut to the chase for our purposes. 
The basis of his proposal is for [...]

Iran and Genocide

There was some discussion a while ago on this blog about whether the actions and rhetoric of the Iranian regime really represent a genocidal threat to Israel. This article by Kenneth L. Marcus makes a compelling case that they do.

Alternative CONTENTION OF THE DAY – gifts by air mail

Incentives and sanctions will not work, but air strikes could degrade and deter Iran’s bomb program at relatively little cost or risk, and therefore are worth a try. They should be precision attacks, aimed only at nuclear facilities, to remind Iran of the many other valuable sites that could be bombed if it were foolish [...]

CONTENTION OF THE DAY – what the Obami believe

Advocates of a containment policy suggest that in the absence of effective diplomacy or sanctions that deliver results, the stark U.S. options are acquiescence or military action. Privately, Obama administration officials confess that they believe Israeli action will preempt our policy debate, as Israel’s tolerance for an Iranian nuke is significantly lower than our own. [...]

Iran debate…

(moved from the Wall)

CONTENTION OF THE DAY – Iranian gamechanger watch

The Iranian regime has been very clever in its development of a nuclear weapons program. Using a horizontal model where they first lined up all the necessary “ingredients” for advanced nuclear weapons –heavy water plants, experimental reactors, plutonium refining plants and uranium enrichment facilities — means that they can shoot directly for a thermonuclear device [...]

It’s been a long fortnight.

I skipped IBALWW last week.  I’m sure you noticed.
At the beginning of the week was the uproar over SNL’s “criticism” of Barack “I Done Plenty o’ Nuthin’” Obama.  CNN fact checked the comedy skit, and found that, contrary to the conclusions of SNL’s comedy writers.  President Obama has done something.1
By the end of the week, [...]

CONTENTION OF THE DAY – the Russia-Iran Axis

If the Sunday Times story is true — if Russian scientists and engineers are indeed helping to create the mullahs’ doomsday weapons — that means the West was wrong to assume that a nuclear-armed Iran runs counter to Russia’s national interest. It means our intelligence-collection efforts in Iran and Russia have been a massive failure. [...]

It’s Like I’ve Been Telling You

Drumbeat begins.

Yes, He Can

So, basically, TGL has spoken to (not met with but spoken to — like on the telephone) his commander on the ground in Afghanistan once. He is facing a showdown with Iran on the world stage. He has Congress hamstrung trying to find a way out of the health care morass he introduced six months [...]

How to Lose Friends and Annoy Your Enemies

Barack Hussein Obama had better savor those manufactured outpourings of love from school children while he can because at the rate he’s losing friends, those mindless ditties may soon be all he has left. The most recent casualty among his one-time admirers is French President Nicolas Sarkozy. According to the Wall Street Journal, neither Sarkozy [...]

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