The American Centurians
03-31-2007, 12:35 AM
The Perfect Storm – Iran
The clouds are slowly but steadily gathering on the horizon. A perfect storm is forming which will once again place America and its so-called “coalition of the willing” right in the middle of the sound and fury. Already it sounds like the freight train noise of a tornado. Just this week, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United Nations about not placing any new sanctions on his country because of their nuclear ambitions. The Los Angeles Times reported him saying Iran would “use any means necessary” to strike back against those applying or encouraging such punitive sanctions.
The leadership team of Iran, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, have strongly argued that their country has a sovereign right to pursue nuclear means for peaceful purposes. Of course, we all know that the Iranians want to produce a nuclear arsenal for military purposes, be that defensive or offensive. Can you blame them. Remember from their perspective, they see the coalition of the willing, led by the United States, invade and occupy both Afghanistan and Iraq. Ever since the day when President Bush mentioned Iran as being part of the “Axis of Evil”, relations have been extremely poor.
The U.N. Security Council is currently discussing ways and means to encourage Iran to halt their pursuit of uranium enrichment; including the use of an embargo on Iran’s military exports and freezing bank assets. Khamenei, in a speech, said that Iran’s enemies “seek to drive a wedge between the ranks of the nation, kill the unity of the Iranian people and make the Iranians preoccupied with internal divisions.” Audience members chanted “death to America.”
In the future, years or months down the road, America and Iran will be in the center of the perfect storm. And with any storm, there will be lots of damage. The cost in human life and treasure will be extreme. It is likely that the storm will be focused in the territory of Iran, but clouds could reach as far as the shores of the United States and Europe. Who will makeup the coalition of the willing for this storm? Again, I suspect the British and the Australians will ride along with minimum contributions. Perhaps Prince Harry will need some combat time. It is unlikely that President Bush’s daughters or the grandchildren of Vice President Cheney or House Speaker Pelosi will be old enough to put their feet on the ground. Oh yes, I almost forgot. How about “Mr. Big Mouth”, former congressman Tom Delay from Texas. You know, the former bug exterminator turned politician. Well, Delay is humping a new book called “No Retreat, No Surrender.” On the cable shows, Delay, with his skirmish grin, continues to argue that America should not cut and run from Iraq and we must stay there until we win the war. Of course, he does not have any children or grandchildren to encourage to “volunteer” for the ground combat. What does winning the war consist of? How many American lives are we willing to sacrifice for this “winning strategy”? There is no military strategy in Iraq, Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East which will allow America’s elite soldiers and weapon systems to win. Trying to craft a political solution of some kind will be difficult enough; just look at the Palestinian affair over the years.
On Friday, Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors and marines who had boarded a suspicious merchant ship in disputed waters of the Persian Gulf. Britain immediately protested the detentions, which come at a time of high tension between the West and Iran. In London, the British government summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Foreign Office: "He was left in no doubt that we want them back," Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said after the meeting. The U.S. Navy, which operates off the Iraqi coast along with British forces, said the British sailors appeared unharmed and that Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were responsible.
This incident is just another sign of the coming storm. America needs to prepare now, by at least thinking about how to ride the storm out. America and the world needs to be able to communicate directly with Iran to find a diplomatic solution to this challenge before it is too late.
Kevin
www.theamericancenturians.com
The clouds are slowly but steadily gathering on the horizon. A perfect storm is forming which will once again place America and its so-called “coalition of the willing” right in the middle of the sound and fury. Already it sounds like the freight train noise of a tornado. Just this week, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United Nations about not placing any new sanctions on his country because of their nuclear ambitions. The Los Angeles Times reported him saying Iran would “use any means necessary” to strike back against those applying or encouraging such punitive sanctions.
The leadership team of Iran, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, have strongly argued that their country has a sovereign right to pursue nuclear means for peaceful purposes. Of course, we all know that the Iranians want to produce a nuclear arsenal for military purposes, be that defensive or offensive. Can you blame them. Remember from their perspective, they see the coalition of the willing, led by the United States, invade and occupy both Afghanistan and Iraq. Ever since the day when President Bush mentioned Iran as being part of the “Axis of Evil”, relations have been extremely poor.
The U.N. Security Council is currently discussing ways and means to encourage Iran to halt their pursuit of uranium enrichment; including the use of an embargo on Iran’s military exports and freezing bank assets. Khamenei, in a speech, said that Iran’s enemies “seek to drive a wedge between the ranks of the nation, kill the unity of the Iranian people and make the Iranians preoccupied with internal divisions.” Audience members chanted “death to America.”
In the future, years or months down the road, America and Iran will be in the center of the perfect storm. And with any storm, there will be lots of damage. The cost in human life and treasure will be extreme. It is likely that the storm will be focused in the territory of Iran, but clouds could reach as far as the shores of the United States and Europe. Who will makeup the coalition of the willing for this storm? Again, I suspect the British and the Australians will ride along with minimum contributions. Perhaps Prince Harry will need some combat time. It is unlikely that President Bush’s daughters or the grandchildren of Vice President Cheney or House Speaker Pelosi will be old enough to put their feet on the ground. Oh yes, I almost forgot. How about “Mr. Big Mouth”, former congressman Tom Delay from Texas. You know, the former bug exterminator turned politician. Well, Delay is humping a new book called “No Retreat, No Surrender.” On the cable shows, Delay, with his skirmish grin, continues to argue that America should not cut and run from Iraq and we must stay there until we win the war. Of course, he does not have any children or grandchildren to encourage to “volunteer” for the ground combat. What does winning the war consist of? How many American lives are we willing to sacrifice for this “winning strategy”? There is no military strategy in Iraq, Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East which will allow America’s elite soldiers and weapon systems to win. Trying to craft a political solution of some kind will be difficult enough; just look at the Palestinian affair over the years.
On Friday, Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors and marines who had boarded a suspicious merchant ship in disputed waters of the Persian Gulf. Britain immediately protested the detentions, which come at a time of high tension between the West and Iran. In London, the British government summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Foreign Office: "He was left in no doubt that we want them back," Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said after the meeting. The U.S. Navy, which operates off the Iraqi coast along with British forces, said the British sailors appeared unharmed and that Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were responsible.
This incident is just another sign of the coming storm. America needs to prepare now, by at least thinking about how to ride the storm out. America and the world needs to be able to communicate directly with Iran to find a diplomatic solution to this challenge before it is too late.
Kevin
www.theamericancenturians.com