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Originally Posted by Dwarven Pirate
Hahahah... and here I thought Bush and Sharon were the only ones suspected of this.
I do not believe that Iran poses any threat, period, to the US in military or public safety terms. I think they pose very little threat to Israel as well, at least for the time being and perhaps the next 20 years, considering what is happening right next door to them, in every direction they look (with the possible exception of northwards).
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Are you willing to wait 20 years to find out if they are a serious threat? Or would you like to "connect the dots" and stop them from becoming the threat?
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Originally Posted by Dwarven Pirate
They may however pose a serious economic threat to America, having to do with their oil and transit of northern oil through their borders. Trade deals with china and russia and the old idea of abandoning the dollar as the preferred currency for oil transactions.
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We don't buy oil from Iran.
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Originally Posted by Dwarven Pirate
Iran desires nuclear weaponry. So does every other country in the world that faces military threats on its borders.
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And we have dissuaded even some of our allies to give up the nuke ambition. Taiwan was pursuing nuclear weapons in the 80s. We stopped them despite them being our ally.
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Originally Posted by Dwarven Pirate
Would they use them pre-emptively if they had them? I dont know, but I doubt it. It would take a madman to do so, no matter how much the Iranian population may despise Israel. And Israel, not America, is where they would be pointed, of course.
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And you're sure A-jad is not a madman? You're sure he wouldn't use it even if he had it? How about someone else? The next leader of Iran? The one after that?
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Originally Posted by Dwarven Pirate
I wonder how it would play out were America to simply sell Iran the weapons and technology in return for oil rights and military bases (or what have you).
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You want us to sell Iran weapons that they can use to bring down our planes flying in Iraq? Destroy our vehicles in Iraq? Kill our soldiers in Iraq? Are you willing to risk that all on a hunch?
We have done all that you've said in the 70s. We sold the Shah our most sophisticated weapon systems in return for oil. Look what happend. And that was to a "friendly" government.