And lets hope some nation-building superpower doesn't do it in for oil interests.

>> ^MaxWilder:
The reason why democracy will fail in Iraq: The people did not demand it. Iran, however, has a chance of getting it, if they can keep this up. I have high hopes for them.

The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran (pdf), the consensus opinion of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies:
"We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program."

That may be (I don't believe it) but I'm responding to this video where Reza cites the IAEA in 2003.

Citing "U.S. intelligence agencies" doesn't give me a lot of confidence considering they did not in fact know India had nukes (yes they knew they were pursuing them. Germans were pursuing them in WW2. I mean "had nukes" as in they actually had them. Ready to use. It was 1973 when India detonated one to the shock of intelligence communities around the world) .. But of course this is the intelligence apparatus that determined there were WMD's in Iraq.

Shouldn't Israel then as well. Instead of telling the Palestinians what form of existence they should enjoy? I mean honestly you talking about a nation whose power structure was assassinated by the CIA for oil rights brought in a corrupt Shah. Eventually lead to the Islamic revolution. No US dialog has been maintained since. It's like me kicking over someones sand castle and then becoming shocked at their attempt to punch me in the face.

You're changing the whole argument here to something that has nothing to do with this video. Now it's about Israel and Palestine. I know it's America's fault somehow because you mentioned oil and the Shaw. Not sure what is your point though? Does Iran resent and hate us because of the Shaw yet the people in the street now want to engage us and move past that? Bonus points if you can actually make it relate to this video.

Should Israel dial back it's rhetoric of what? That it will defend itself? They are faced with an enemy that is bent on their destruction. Iran. A sovereign state has made it a mandate that they will seek the extinction of this people. That's kind of rude huh? One of the main stumbling blocks for US foreign policy is Israel. Is that because Israel is so fucked up or because there are so many Islamic run regimes that are committed heart and soul to seeing Israel annihilated? Personally, it doesn't matter how you look at it .. they are our allies, and like Britain, Australia, Japan or any of America's trusted friends .. we are bound to defend and support them. It would be a lot easier to turn our back on our allies, but that isn't going to happen.

Is a nuclear armed North Korea? Russia? US? Seems to be alot of tolerance for that there. A state a believe far more willing to put its entire population at nuclear apocalypse.

I actually don't know what that last sentence means. Sorry.
Would the world be better if no one had nukes? Maybe. Will it be better if everyone has nukes? Of course not.

First strike policy is not pursued by any state. Actually, I think that's bullshit. Every nuclear state is trying to develop a first strike plan. We already know such plans exist with "acceptable losses" and such. The good news is M.A.D. has been affective and no one has really figured out an acceptable first strike strategy, yet. The problem is people like money, and what one state uses as a deterrent another emerging state uses as ransom. Iran and other "rogue" states could not actually assure destruction of the US the way the Soviets could during the cold war. So M.A.D. doesn't apply. It's just a threat .. like the Somali pirates. Fear our power. Pay the ransom. Iran (like N. Korea) see nukes as an an extortion tool. A bargaining chip. A chance to wield power and control a spot at the table of world affairs. Some of this is "give in to us or we sell it to others".

We know there are groups out there though that don't fear any retaliation. They don't have a state, don't give a shit if their people live or die because they are on a "mission from God" (sorry Blue's Brothers) .. and those groups buy these technologies from rouge states. So any state emerging with that technology deserves international scrutiny. Obviously.

We can't let every nation on Earth become nuclear states. If you want to argue about the US, Russia, China, etc and other nations that already have them then the only way to solve the problem is to build a time machine. Those nations already have them now and the only way to deal with it is to draw down the numbers of weapons in the stockpiles. Not increase the threat to the entire world by adding new members to the club.

Lastly, I specifically said it was not the Iranian people in general that are the problem, but the hard line psychos in charge. Yet, don't forget there are demonstrations in the streets for Ahmadinejad too. So they say.

>> ^imstellar28:
Why is there nothing about Iran in the top 15?!?


Clearly you haven't seen the baby goat video or the 8-bit-style keyboard cat, or you wouldn't be asking such a silly question.

Priorities.

2.5 million people coming out in Tehran is a beautiful thing. Please get rid of that theocracy.

>> ^burdturgler:
It is complete speculation on his part that there is no nuclear weapon ambition or program in Iran.

The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran (pdf), the consensus opinion of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies:

"We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program."


The C.I.A. and the rest of Earth found out because India detonated one.

India announced the pursuit of atomics in 1946, in 1968 it did not sign the NPT, in 1974 it conducted its first tests. This doesn't sound like lack of knowledge to me. The information was kept from the general public to avoid a preemptive atomic confrontation between India and Pakistan. That issue as a whole is entirely different then the one in the Middle East.


Iran needs to dial back it's rhetoric and hate speech and get more in line with the international cooperation and dialog that it's people wants.

Shouldn't Israel then as well. Instead of telling the Palestinians what form of existence they should enjoy? I mean honestly you talking about a nation whose power structure was assassinated by the CIA for oil rights brought in a corrupt Shah. Eventually lead to the Islamic revolution. No US dialog has been maintained since. It's like me kicking over someones sand castle and then becoming shocked at their attempt to punch me in the face.


Does anyone honestly think a nuclear armed Iran is a viable option for world stability and peace?


Is a nuclear armed North Korea? Russia? US? Seems to be alot of tolerance for that there. A state a believe far more willing to put its entire population at nuclear apocalypse.

No nation attains nuclear weapons for the purpose of using them anymore. It just doesn't make sense politically, ever since the US detonated the Hiroshima bomb and the nuclear arms race of the Cold War that nuclear weapons simply exist as means of deterrence. First strike policy is not pursued by any state because its admission and allowance to be attacked first preemptively. Thus everyone claims base deterrence use.

I don't find it acceptable that Israel has UNDECLARED nuclear weapons still and somehow that is okay. The threat of them striking Iran is just as great in my eyes. Shit they bombed Syria and Iraq just for the smallest whiff of nuclear capability. But what kind of action is that? How is that acceptable.

Further more your entire line about Iranians being made into anti-Israel haters flies in face of the protests taking place now trying to depose a president who was clearly illegally placed into power and has spent the last 4 years doing nothing but talking garbage. I don't know why people are so willing to think Bush was retarded in his foreign policy assessments and somehow take Iran's president seriously.

>> ^ElJardinero:
"If anything it serves as a testament to the fact that not every person from Iran is a bomb-strapped nutbag as they are often characterized. "
... iranian suicide bombers?
Where? When?


Exactly. Therein lies the deep misperception that we in the West hold.

In fact, among the Twitter feeds that I've been following of Iranians on the streets of Tehran, many are quite concerned themselves that the Hezbollah mercenaries that Ahmadinejad has hired as riot police will unleash suicide attacks.

"important: The Iranian government is looking for dissident twitterers, so if you have an account, change your location and timezone to tehran!"

I don't have a twitter account and I don't plan on creating one any time soon, but if anything will finally persuade me to do it, it's going to be my desire to be included in the flow of communication surrounding important events, not its primary function: an exercise in narcissism.

http://www.videosift.com/video/War-on-Gaza-Demonstrations-Manchester-UK-28-Dec
What faces do you see in this clip?

What about the protests in
Oregon
San Francisco
New York
Tel Aviv
Tehran
Egypt
30+ UK cities
Ireland
Paris
and all over Europe and around the world?

What colour faces do you see there?

You know what, you'll see ALL COLOUR FACES, you'll see people from ALL CULTURES standing in solidarity with Palestine and condemning Israeli genocide.

You should go along to one of these demonstrations, I bet there's one happening near you. You might learn something.

In reply to this comment by Pprt:
Take a look at the faces: 0:18, 0:32, 0:50, 1:47, 1:53, 2:15 etc

There was even a Hezbollah flag there (the yellow one) and a poster of Ahmadinejad.

There have been MASSIVE protests and demonstrations in practically every single major city in Europe since the 28th December.

There have been protests in Berlin, Greece, Lebanon, London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Beirut, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Tel Aviv, Paris, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Amman, Damascus... the list goes on and on. There have been demonstrations in more than 30 cities in the UK alone.

The Israeli people have even been demonstrating in Tehran.

Here is where you can get info on the US campaign:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/



They've just sent in the ground troops.

There have been MASSIVE protests and demonstrations in practically every single major city in Europe since the 28th December.

There have been protests in Berlin, Greece, Lebanon, London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Beirut, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Tel Aviv, Paris, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Amman, Damascus... the list goes on and on. There have been demonstrations in more than 30 cities in the UK alone.

The Israeli people have even been demonstrating in Tehran.

Here is where you can get info on the US campaign:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/



They've just sent in the ground troops.

"The Baluchis are Sunni fundamentalists who hate the regime in Tehran, but you can also describe them as Al Qaeda, " Baer told me. "These are guys who cut off the heads of nonbelievers--in this case, it's Shiite Iranians. The irony is that we're once again working with Sunni fundamentalists, just as we did in Afghanistan in the nineteen eighties." Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is considered one of the leading planners of the September 11th attacks, are Baluchi Sunni Fundamentalists.

The New Yorker, July 7 & 14 2008
Seymour M. Hersh, "Annals of National Security", page 65.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'government, tehran, uso, bush, imperialism' to 'government, tehran, uso, bush, imperialism, the hour, george stroumboulopoulos' - edited by Zifnab

Tags for this video have been changed from 'government, tehran, uso, bush, imperialism' to 'government, tehran, uso, bush, imperialism, the hour, george stroumboulopoulos' - edited by Zifnab

3 days before the election israel launches a pre-emptive air strike against Iran's nuclear facilities using low-yield nuclear weapons. Iran responds by sending dozens of Shahab-3 missiles on Tel Aviv and Haifa. Human bombs are exploding in major cities across EU and US. President Bush suspends election and declares martial law. Within 48 hours army units patrol every major city in the US and the coalition of US and NATO forces starts bombing Tehran...

I'm not a 100% certain, but i dont think this is aljazeera. they wouldn't have a bureau in Tehran. It's probably PressTV.