Reply #47: Bad situation made worse by Bush and pre-emptive war

[Zodiak]

This is a hairy, hairy situation. It was made infinitely worse by our pre-emptive invasion of an unoccupied country. Bush named his "Axis of Evil" and he invaded one of them on the thinnest pretense. The pretense has been disproven, but there have absolutely NO political consequences for those that developed that pretense. Hence, Iran has a reasonable fear that they are next.

They look to the last remaining "Axis of Evil" power other than themselves and see how willing Americans are to negotiate with a crazier, more armed dictator there. Naturally, the conclusion is that the only way to ensure safety and a seat at the negotiating table is to develop nuclear capability (not necessarily weapons, which have yet to be proven).

Iran is negotiating with brinksmanship tactics right now because they KNOW they are about to be bombed/invaded. I do not blame them. Their backs have been put against the wall. Funny how just a few years ago, it was very possible that Iran could have changed governments from within. The invasion of their neighbor changed all of that.

I am not going to get into Israel but to mention that that is one country that has sullied its international reputation by hiding under America's wing for far too long. I do not wish any blood to be spilled at all.

Oh, and can anyone tell me what happens to a nuclear plant that is bombed? Woldn't that trigger a Chernobyl-level disaster? Surely the lives of thousands of Iranians are not worth sacrificing to destroy a nuclear power plant, which is all Iran has right now.

No one has the right to preemptive war without a true causus belli (determined by investigation and international consensus; not the warring parties). That goes for any state, including really powerful ones and their toadie allies.